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•J. Cooem

NOVA SCOTIA, NEW BRUNSWICK,

AND THE OTHER

BRITISH PROVINCES IN NORTH AMERICA,

WITH A PLAN OF

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

BY JAMES S. BUCKINGHAM.

FISHER, SON, & CO.

NEWGATE STREET, LONDON; RUE ST. HONORIS, PARIS.

DEDICATION,

TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR CHARLES T. METCALFE, BART.,
Governor- General of Canada^

as a

SINCERE TRIBUTE OF ESTEEM FOR HIS MANY PRIVATE VIRTUES,
and of admiration for the

LIBERALITY OF SENTIMENT — INFLEXIBLE INTEGRITY—

AND HIGH MORAL COURAGE,

Which has marked his successive Administrations in the

EASTERN AND WESTERN WORLDS,

THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

{with his kind permission^)

BY ONE, WHO, HAVING ENJOYED THE ADVANTAGE
OF HIS EARLY FRIENDSHIP IN HINDOOSTAN, A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO,

Has seen with unalloyed satisfaction

HIS HIGH AND HONOURABLE APPOINTMENTS AS A GOVERNOR
IN BENGAL, JAMAICA, AND CANADA ;

And who gladly avails himself of this opportunity

TO GIVE EXPRESSION TO THOSE SENTIMENTS OF PRIVATE REGARD AND
ESTEEM, AND PUBLIC RESPECT AND HOMAGE,
which a uniform career of

FIRMNESS OF PURPOSE, UNITED WITH MILDNESS OF MANNERS,
JUSTNESS OF OBJECT, PURSUED WITH MODERATION OF MEANS,

AND TRUE DIGNITY OF OFFICE, BLENDED WITH
ACCESSIBILITY, FRANKNESS, AND COURTESY TO ALL,

Are SO well calculated to inspire.

MAY HIS ADMINISTRATION BE AS HONOURABLE
TO HIS WELL-EARNED RENOWN,

AS ACCEPTABLE TO HIS BELOVED SOVEREIGN ;
and, above all,

AS FAVOURABLE TO THE PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS
OF THE COLONISTS UNDER HIS RULE,

AS THE MOST FERVENT PATRIOT OR PHILANTHROPIST
COUI.D DESIRE !

J. S. BUCKINGHAM.

London, May 1, 1843.

SIR CHARLES METCALFE TO MR. BUCKINGHAM.

Liverpool, 3d of March, 1843, 2 a.m.

My Dear Sir,

I write a hurried line, at this unusual hour, to
acknowledge the receipt of your obliging letter of the 28 tli
u timo, to say that I rejoice to see that you propose to publish
on Canada, and that I accept, with pride and pleasure, the honour
of the Dedication of your forthcoming Work.

I could not rely on any opportunity of writing during the
present day, and early to-morrow I shall be on the sea, away
irom the means of communication with you.

With many thanks for the kind sentiments expressed in your

I remain, my dear Sir, your’s very truly.

To J. S. Buckingham, Esq.

C. T. METCALFE.

PHEFACE.

In committing to the press the last volume of my
1 ravels on the Continent of America, I have only

0 ask for It the same careful and patient examina-
tion, and the same candid and impartial criticism,
by which those who may read its pages would like
any work of their own to be judged, were they
about to appear before the tribunal of the public.

Of the narrative and descriptive portions, there
mil not probably be much ditference of opinion, as
the pictures possess at least fidelity and truth, from
their being drawn on the spot. On the historical
and statistic sections, all practicable care has been
bestowed, and the best accessible authorities, ancient
and modern, diligently consulted and compared
And of the illustrations, it is sufficient perhaps to
say that they are from the pencil of Mr. Bartlett to
ensure for them that confidence in their accuracv! to
which, all who have seen the cities and scenes deli-
neated, will bear their willing testimony.

The portion of this work that will no doubt excite
some opinions in accordance, and others at variance
with the Author’s views, is that which embraces the
Chapter on National Colonization. But, as it is the
fate of all new projects or propositions — from the
Expedition of Columbus, down to the introduction of

PREFACE.

Gas Lights, Steam Navigation, a Civic Police, Slave-
Emancipation, Cheap Postage, or Free Trade — to
meet with opposition, from the classes who are most
slow to perceive the advantages of improvement, and
from those who are interested in maintaining things
as they are ; so it would be vain to expect that a
proposition so bold and comprehensive as that of
introducing an entire new system of planting Colonies
abroad, should be received even with general favour.
It must pass through its ordeal of abuse, ridicule,
scorn, and contempt, like all other projects ; and
Time alone will decide whether it has within it the
elements of truth, justice, and practicability, to sus-
tain it through the conflict.

I beg the favour, therefore, of those to whom this
proposition seems at first uninviting, to remember
well, that it is the common trick of those who will
not give themselves the trouble to examine what is
new, to excuse their indolence, and flatter their self-
love at the same time, by affecting a degree of wisdom
so superior to that of ordinary mortals, as to be able to
pronounce judgment without weighing the evidence,
and oracularly to condemn everything which they
will not give themselves the pains to understand, as
“ visionary and impracticable.” This has been the
sentence of shallow-minded men, in every age, on
every subject that was in advance of their own
understanding or their own industry to make them-
selves thoroughly acquainted with ; and this is the
cuckoo-note of shallow-minded persons still.

If the “ army of martyrs” who have been thought
“ visionaries ” in their day and generation, — from
Anaxagoras, who was condemned for impiety towards

PllEi'ACK.

the gods, because he taught some new astronomical
truths, and contended that there was only one
Supreme Intelligence ruling the Universe, down
to Galileo, who was imprisoned by the Inquisition
for broaching new “ impieties ” of the same des-
cription ; and so onward to Columbus, who was
treated as a “visionary” by the Courts and Col-
leges of Europe; or Fulton, who was an object of
scorn and ridicule to the multitude when he made
his first attempt to propel a vessel by steam on the
Hudson river ; or, in moral changes, to Wilberforce
and Clarkson, who were regarded as “ monomaniacs ”
— or Father Mathew, who was at first considered a
mei’e “dreamer” — and the advocates of substituting
a Congress of Nations to maintain Universal Peace,
and settle all national disputes by arbitration instead
of having recourse to war, all of whom are regarded
by the great majority of mankind as “ imbeciles ” or
“ fanatics if such an “ army of martyrs ” could be
raised from the dead some fifty years hence, when
their “ visionary and impracticable schemes ” have
all received the stamp of Time to mark them as
the works of men who had effected the greatest and
most beneficial revolutions in human affairs ; — and
if such a “host of visionaries” could at the same
time be confronted with the weak and shallow men
who derided their efforts, scoffed at their projects,
and either persecuted or denounced them as mad-
men or fools — how would the glory of the one and
the shame of the other stand out in bold relief, and
eaeh make the other more conspicuous !

But, let the planners and projectors of the world,
visionai’y though they may be deemed, console them-

PREFACE.

selves with this reflection, that it is to the very
enthusiasts who are so contemptuously scorned, that
the world owes all the pioneering efforts which have
resulted in the discovery and promulgation of almost
every great physical, moral, or political change that
has yet improved the condition of mankind ; — that
their zeal, which is so much ridiculed, furnishes the
only power which could sustain them in their frowned-
upon and discouraged career; — and that their indif-
ference and superiority to the scoffs of the ignorant,
their single-mindedness of purpose, and their uncon-
querable perseverance in what they believe to be just
and true, can alone achieve the triumphs they so
ardently desire.

J. S. BUCKINGHAM.

8 , Regent's Villas,

Ave^iue Road,

Regent's Park,

CONTENTS.

CHAP. I.

Departure from the United States for Canada — Embark at Queenstown in
an English steamer — Pass between Fort Niagara and Fort George —
Historical Incidents connected with these Forts — Voyage across Lake
Ontario — Agreeable contrast of an English steamer with an American —
Arrival at Toronto 1

CHAP. II.

Sketch of the history of York or Toronto — Position of the town — Size,
plan, streets — Wooden side- walks— Long plank turnpike road — Supe-
riority in pleasure and economy to macadamized roads — Public edifices —
Parliament House and ofiices — Hall of Representatives — Legislative
council-chamber — College buildings and grounds — Funds for endowment
— Course and cost of education — Government House — Churches — Epis-
copal service Differences in English and American Churches — News-

papers — Judicial establishment — Professions of law and medicine — Hos-
pital and asylum— Emigrant office— Banks and currency— Municipal
government 9

CHAP. III.

Resemblances and differences between Canada and the United States —
State of Society in Toronto — Strong dislike of the Americans — American
enterprise with Irish labour and English capital— Progress made by
Toronto in twenty-five years— Advance in population and public works —
Yearly increase of population — General loyalty and attachment to the
British rule— Superaddition of hatred and contempt for America— Great
meeting of Upper Canadians on Queenstown Heights— Proposed resto-
ration of the monument to General Brock— Meeting of Free Negroes to
celebrate _ British emancipation— Regatta of sailing and rowing boats in
the Bay

CHAP. IV.

Facts connected with the recent Rebellion in Upper Canada— Visit from
an Indian Missionary— Kah-ke-wa-quon-a-bee— Indian Settlement at
“ The river where credit is given ” — State and condition of the Canadian
Indians generally— Difficulty of converting the pagan tribes of India-
Remarkable speech and dream of an Indian Chief— Proposal to remove
the Indians to the Manitoulin Island— Indian preference of Ftench and

CONTENTS.

or Ohio— Recent decline in the price of land— Climate of Toronto— Intem-
perate Magistrates — Causes of this, the reward of political partisans —
News of the Union of the Canadas — Parting visits to friends 42

CHAP. V.

Departure from Toronto — English steamboats — Passage along the coast —

Character of the country— Touch at Port Hope, and at Coburg Arrival

at Kingston, and stay there — History of the rise and progress of that town
—Beautiful and advantageous situation of Kings ton— Visit to the Fort
on the opposite Peninsula — Description of its interior and subterranean
passage— Plan of the town— Materials and style of building— Public
Edifices Court House — Churches — Country around Kingston — Bay of
Quinte Kr

CHAP. VI.

Visit to the Kingston Penitentiary — Chaplain’s and Inspector’s Reports

Difiiculty of providing for prisoners when released— Intemperance the
principal cause of crime— Defective education—Religion of the convicts
—Registry of facts connected with the prisoners— Cost of the Peniten-
tiary Salaries— Expenses — Proceeds of labour — Objections of honest

labourers Visit to the Ridcau Canal — Fine works — Line of the canal

Progress, cost, and value — Great fire at Kingston — Rebuilding of the
town— Newspapers— Mechanics’ Institute— Temperance Society— Old
Indian Regiments met with at Kingston and Toronto— General state of
society here— Sultry weather— Visit of the Governor- General of Canada
on his tour— Reception at Kingston— Causes for its coldness 65

CHAP. VII.

Departye from Kingston for Montreal- Passage through The Thousand

Islands-Brockville-Prescott— Osnaburgh-Tube Ferry- Route by land
and water towards Montreal-Pks.sage through Lake St. Francis- Rapids
ot the St. La^vrence- Boats and rafts- French Canadians— Dwellings-
I arms— Neatness, cleanliness, love of fiowers, and of dress— Fort—
Highlanders of Glengarry- Village of the Cedars- Village population-
Irench Parish Church- Junction of the Ottewa River with the St. Law-
rence— Embarkation on the Ottawa at the Cascades— Visit to Mr Ellice’s
Seigneury of Beauhamois - Indian village of Caughnawagha-Joumey
from Lachine to Montreal-Stay at this city, and occupations there... 83

CHAP. VIII.

Early history of Montreal- Indian village of Hochelaga- Tribe of the
Hurons-Cession of Montreal to the Jesuit Missionaries-Consecration
of the spot selected for the town-Transfer of the Island to the St. Sul-
picians-First intercourse and traffic with the Indians- Foundation of
the Seminary of St. Sul pice— Horrible massacre of the whites by the
Indians-Surrender of Montreal to the British-Terrible fire-Deprecia-
F 1 Money— Capture of Montreal by Americans— Recapture-

«g IS o mericans— Soil of Upper Canada, equal to that of New York

CONTENTS.

Visit of Prince William Henry, late King of England — Awful and alarm-
ing atmospherical phenomenon — Destructive ravages of the Asiatic cho-
lera — First overt act of rebellion in Montreal — Probable future seat of
the United Government 94

CHAP. IX.

Situation of Montreal — Junction of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Siege

of the Island — Height of Mount Royal — Plan and subdivisions of the
city — Streets, houses, style, and materials of building — Public edifices —
Great Catholic Cathedral — Description of its architecture and interior
— Roman Catholic and Protestant churches — Number and proportions of
religious sects — Visit to the ancient nunnery of the Hotel Dieu — Habits
and appearance of the cloistered nuns — Visit to the Black Nunnery, or
Convent of Notre Dame — Seminary for female education attached to
this — Dress and appearance of the Black Nuns — Number of pupils —
Style and cost of education — Visit to the Grey Nunnery — History of its
foundation — Dress and appearance of the Grey Nuns — Discipline and
mode of life within the walls — Sources of revenue and its appropriation
— Seminary of the St. Sulpicians — Property of this body — Seigiieury of
Montreal — British and Canadian School — Protestant National School —
McGill’s College for the higher branches of education 105

CHAP. X.

Municipal government— Municipal edifices — Court House — Barracks —
Government House — Custom House — Commerce of Montreal — Tonnage
of Shipping — Imports and Exports of the City — Increase of population
Hotels — Theatre — Newspapers of Montreal — Instance of illiberality
towards Catholics — Injustice towards America and the Americans —
Example of unjustifiable imputations — Books — American reprints of
English works — Ship-building and rope-making establishments 129

CHAP. XL

Monument to Lord Nelson — The Champ de Mars Hospital — Orphan Asy-
lum — Ladies* Benevolent Society — Sunday Schools — Bible and Tract
Associations — Home Missionaries for converting the Canadian habitans
— Natural History Society — Museum and Library — Gas Works and
Water Works — City Police Force — Indian females in the streets— Gene-
ral Society of Montreal — Licentiousness of the Military — Temperance
Excursion on the river St. Lawrence — Visit to Canadian villages — Force
of the current in the Pass of St. Mary — Landing of the Temperance
party at the wharf — Contrast between this and pleasure excursions in
general — Visit to the summit of Mount Royal — Splendour and beauty of
the View 144

CHAP. XII.

Departure from Montreal for Quebec — Passage do\\Ti the river St. Lawrence
— Villages — Boats — Rafts — Canadian boat-songs — Splendid sunset —
Improving scenery of the river’s banks— First view of Quebec — Magnifi-

CONTENTS.

cent picture Wolfe’s Cove— Plains of Abraham — Land at Quebec

Hotel on the ramparts jgj

CHAP. XIH.

Earliest intercourse with Canada-Cabot, Cortereal, and Verazzano- First
iiUercourse with Indians— Voyages of Jacques Cartier— Roberval, Viceroy
ot Canada- Champlain’s voyage— Founding of Quebec— First capture of
the City by the English in 1629-Other attacks at different periods—
Expedition of General Wolfe— Plan of operations -Wolfe’s recital of
Greys Elegy, the night before the battle— Scaling the Heights of the
Plains of Abraham— Battle on the Plains— Death of General Wolfe—
Amlrkan"^^ General, Montcalm-Siege of Quebec by the

CHAP. XIV.

Description of the City in its present state-Situation of the town-
xcellence of its harbour— Commanding position of the Citadel- Plan
TLriTu “<1 alleys-Lovver Town and Up er

plr ^ ra . Streets- Private Dwellings-Shopsl

fealt^h M ®‘- Lewis-Ceremony of swearing

Bea ftiftd ‘'l® ?“«"®";;®-I>estruction of the ancient Castle by fire-!
Beautiful Platform and Promenade on its site— Parliament House—

— *Val*° hi° * n building- Hall of the Legislative Assembly— Library
Bishir,^ p collection of old books-Legislative Council Chamber-!
Bishops Palace— Lower Town— Custom House— Exchange- Trinity
House-Sault-aux-Matelot-Origin of the name-Upper Zvn-S
House and Jail-Government Offiees— Museum of^Ltural History
Literary Society-Mechanics’ Institute T»

CHAP. XV.

Catholics-First Convent of the
u ^ ^ Jesiiits-Dissolution of their Order-Founda
i: N Lieu- Description of the building— Convent of Ursu

Conr^e"T the^diication of bo^I!:

C^\ '"struction-Numbers and classes-Bishop’s residence-
r^!i Library— General Hospital of the Congregational Nuns

<5 r 1 O 1 Protestant Cathedral and Chapels-

cnre M 1 L-titution-Seandalous"sine.

Hospital ' school-Benevolent Institutions— Marine

: 203

CHAP. XVI.

engineer- General description of the
ortihcations Lines and Ramparts enclosing the City of Onehon v •
to the Plains of Abraham— Death of Q"ebec— Visit

CONTENTS.

Quebec by the bank of the river-Scenes of poverty, filth, and intem-
^lance, by the way— Visit to the Joint Monument to Wolfe and
Montcalm— Earlier French Tribute to the memory of Montcalm— Corre-

CHAP. XVII.

Commerce of Quebec-Ships, Tonnage, and Cargoes— Large proportion
oi Wines and Spirits imported— Articles of Export, nature and qiian-
Immigration during the present year— Muni-
cipal Government- Population-French and English society in Quebec-
Newspapers— Political parties— Public amusements— Picture Gallery—
of Hurons— Castes and names— Spread of
the Catholic religion in America- Recent arrival of several companies
of Nuns— Crowded Temperance Meeting in the Parliament House-
Statistics of Intemperance in the City of Quebec— Expenses of Jails,
Hospitals, Asylums, and Paupers- Coroner’s Inquests- Proportion of
criminals from drinking-Execution of a British seaman for murderinff
a marine— Efforts of the Catholic Bishop and Clergy in favour of Tem-
perance-Climate of Quebec— Health of the Canadian peasantry... 238

CHAP. XVIII.

Visit to the Falls of Montmorenci— Contrast between the French Cana-
dians and the Americans-Description of the Falls at Montmorenci—
Beautiful view of Quebec from the road— Ride on the Cape Rouge road
— Spencer Wood— St. Foix road— Drive from Point Levi to the river
Chaudiere Canadian peasantry, character, and condition — Visit to the
Falls of the Chaudiere— Catholic crosses— Militia stations— Fine views
of Quebec from the Heights of Point Levi- Excursion to Lake St.
Charles and Lorette— History and Description of the Huron Indians—

Amalgamation with the French traders — Visit to the Indian Church

“ Our Lady of Loretta Visit to the dwelling of the Indian chief 265

CHAP. XIX.

General Sketch of the History of Canada— First voyage of John and Sebas-
tian Cabot— Enterprises of the French navigators, Aubert, Cartier, and
Robervalle— First "capture of Quebec by the EngUsh— Religious Estab-
lishments of the Jesuits— Expedition of General Wolfe— Settlement of
Canada under the British — Distinctions between Upper and Lower
Canada— English and French races— Rebellion of 1837— Visit of Lord
Durham— Union effected under Lord Sydenham— Area, climate, produc-
tions, and present condition of the Province "... 292

CHAP. XX.

Departure from Quebec— Fine view of the City and surrounding objects—
Falls of Montmorenci— Isle of Orleans— Isle of Filberts— River Saguenay
— Scenery of its clilfy banks — Grandeur of the St. Lawrence at its
entrance -Antico.sti- Gasp4 — Bay of Chaleurs-Magdalen Islands—

CONTENTS.

Prince Edward Island — History, description, statistics, and commerce of
the Colony — Government, population, and religious sects of the Island —
Entrance to Pictou — Town of Scotch settlers — Coal beds and railroad —
Passage through the Gut of Canseau — Shores of Nova Scotia and of
Cape Breton — Geological theory of the formation of their Bays En-

trance to the harbour of Halifax— Embarkation of the late Governor for
England — Specimen of Colonial nationality 308

CHAP. XXI.

First seftlement of Nova Scotia by the French— Town of Halifax founded
by the Earl of Halifax — Cruel treatment of the Acadians by the British
—First House of Assembly formed in Halifax— Visits of the Duke of
Clarence and Duke of Kent— Situation of the town— Fine harbour and

basin— Town of Dartmouth— Shubenecadie Canal— Plan of Halifax

Dockyard and Ordnance Depot — Province Building — Government
House— Catholic Seminary— Protestant College— Museum and Mecha-
nics’ Institute Churches of Halifax — Numbers and sects — Newspapers

Commerce of the Port— Population — British, Negroes, and Indians

General Society— Loyalty of feeling— Ladies of Halifax— Hospitality-
Parties— Country Residences— Agriculture— Roads 325

CHAP. XXII.

General Description of the Province of Nova Scotia— Area, extent, and
position— History of its discovery and first settlement— Repeated captures
and transfers between England and France— Shameful expulsion of the
Acadians— Topography— Climate and produetions— Value of Exports and
Imports— Estimated^value of moveable and immoveable property— Towns
of the Coast— Interior Administration of Justice 34c

CHAP. XXIII.

Cape Breton— Position— Area— Originally part of the French Colony of
Acadia -Subsequent history - Religious wars - Lax morality of the
Puritans— Destruction of Louisbourgh— Value of its mines of iron and
coal- Singular phenomenon of gas and boiling water - Population-
Classes— Occupations— Shipping and trade— Prince Edward Island-
Attempt (o restore feudal government— Lands disposed of by State
Lottery— Area, produce, and population of the Island— Chief town—
legislature— Commerce— Present condition 357

CHAP. XXIV.

Island of Newfoundland- Size- Position-Features of resemblance to
Ireland History— Voyages of the Scandinavians and Welsh— Visit of
English and French navigators-British Admirals and Naval Captains
appointed as Govcmors-First Constitution and Legislature given to the
island- Area— Climate and productions— Rivers— Lakes— Soil— Bays-

fisheries— Perilous enterprises- Exports of fish and oil— Popiilution—
Religious bodies — Future prospects qgcj

CONTENTS.

CHAP. XXV.

Leave Halifax for journey to Windsor-Stage-coach-Intemperate passe,.-
gers-Road-Scenery-Lakes-Autumnal foliage-Town of Windsor-
River Avon--College--FertUe land— Neat fields— Excellent farming-
mbark in the Maid of the Mist steamer— Scenery of the river— Ba/of
M„.es--Gathering storm-Anchor under Cape Blow-me-down-Narrow
Split-Bay of Fundy-Highest and strongest tides in the

th^ r 7 “fT "a Scotia-Heavy sea in crossing

the Bay of Fundy-Toivn of Cuaco on the New Brunswick shore-
Teignmouth-Shipbuilding and farming-Highland rocky coasts-Capes
and headlands- Arrival at the City of St. John-Greetings by old Indian
and Egyptian friends gg^

CHAP. XXVI.

History of New Brunswick and St John— Situation of the City and its
suburbs— River St. John—Entrance and Rapids — Public Buildings—
Court House— Custom House — Market House — Square — Banks—
Churches— Hotels— Mechanics’ Institute — Schools— Benevolent and
Patnotic , Societies — Municipal Government— Destructive fires— Ship-
Imilding-Number and cost of vessels-Commerce- Exports and Imports
1 ayv-mills American speculators — Projected suspension

bridge— Population of St. John— Characteristics— Newspapers— Literary
productions ^

CHAP. XXVII.

Departure for Fredericton— Indian-Town- Mouth of the River St John-
Great chasm in the rocks-Rapids and Cataract— Beautiful scenery of
the river Expanding Lake or Bay — Auxiliary streams of the Kennebeca-
cis and Oromocto— Settlements along the banks— Arrival at Fredericton
Description of the town — Its plan, public buildings, and population 412

CHAP. XXVIII.

General view of the Province of New Brunswick— History of its first sepa-
ration from Nova Scotia— Progressive Settlement— Area— Coasts bays—
Rivers, mountains, and lakes— The Boundary line— Extensive forests—

Vanety of trees— Minerals— Animals— Fisheries— Capacity for settlement
of Emigrants- New Brunswick Land Company— Custom of Gavelkind-
Government— Judiciary— Revenue— Shipping— Commerce— Great fire

on the river Miramichi ^20

CHAP. XXIX.

Capacityof our Colonies to relieve the mother-country of her surplus popu-
lation Practicability of making them also assist to extend our commerce
—Questions of Free Trade and Emigration-Want of employment among
the labouring classes— Colonial Emigration ofltrs a speedy and effective
relief— Decline of great empires from neglect of Colonization, Commerce,
and Education— Four great elements of national wealth— Superabundance

CONTENTS.

of all these in England — Plan for transferring these to our North Ameri-
can Colonies, by free gifts of land, and free conveyance of Emigrants, at
the national cost — Certainty of benefits, far more than equivalent to the
outlay, which would amply reward the mother-country, as well as enrich
the Colonies

CHAP. XXX.

Departure from Fredericton— Arrival at Woodstock— Crossing the Boun-
dary Line— Mars Hill— American Fort at Houlton— Note on Lord Ash-
burton s Treaty Tariff — Corn Laws — Reform Bill — Arrival at Bangor
in Maine— Voyage to Portland— Beautiful view of Boston— Journey to
Worcester, Norwich, and New London — Arrival at New York 465

CHAP. XXXI.

Intended Journey through Mexico, and Voyage by the Pacific to China-
Reasons for the abandonment of this part of our Expedition— Liberal
remuneration of literary labours in America— Unfortunate investments
in American Stock-Bankruptcy of them all, and consequent total loss
—Return to England in the steamship President-Considerations as to
the probable cause of her subsequent wreck— Conclusion 479

Supplementary chapter
Postscript

489

514

LIST OF PLATES.

Map of Canada and the other British Possessions in North America.
Fish Market, Toronto

Kingston— Lake Ontario

Montreal from the Mountain

Quebec from the opposite shore of the St. Lawrence-Frontispiece .,
Halifax from Dartmouth

St. John and Portland, New Brunswick

Fredericton, New Brunswick

page

160

279

332

409

417

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CANADA.

CHAP. I.

leoarture from the United States for Canada— Embark at
Queenstown in an English steamer— Pass between Fort Niapra
and Fort George— Historical Incidents connected with these
Forts— Voyage across Lake Ontario— Agreeable contrast of
an English^steamer with an American— Arrival at Toronto.

Iaving now concluded our Survey of the United
Itates of America, after a tour of three years,
luring which we had visited nearly every part ot
hat extensive country, we were anxious to follow it
m by as careful and impartial an examination ot the
British Possessions on the same Continent, induing
Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Ihe
liversity of opinion as to the value of these Pos-
sessions and the condition of their inhabitants,
tvhich prevailed in England, as well as the opposite
views taken by different parties as to the “erits or
demerits of the recent rebellion, rendered it highly

CANADA.

desirable that a calm and unbiassed investig'ation
should be made by some one who had neither pre-
possessions nor prejudices to sustain, and who would
therefore examine with patience, and record with
fidelity, all that passed within his observation dur-
ing his travels through these Provinces. In this
spirit, I can truly say, that I entered on the task ; and
I had the fullest confidence that, in the same spirit, I
should continue to pursue it to the end. The follow-
ing narrative of our journey, and the reflections to
which the incidents of it gave rise, will best deter-
mine how far that resolution has been strictly
adhered to.

On Monday, the 24th of August, 1839, we left
the United States of America for Canada-embark-
ing at Queenstown, in the Straits of Niagara, on
board the English steamer Transit, Capt. Richard-
son. We left the wharf at Queenstown at 2 p. m
and running down the five or six miles of the narrow
stream which divides the British from the American
territory, we entered the Lake Ontario. On the
right hand of our track we had Fort Niagara, with
^e American flag flying—and on the left hand, Fort
George, and Fort Missassauga, or the Rattlesnake,
m the British town of Niagara. On these last, no
colours were displayed, though there were two flacr.
staffs— one on each Fort— and a number of English
troops in garrison: the British flag was nowhere
seen, though a British vessel was passing, while the

c4rit’ r. ‘ "I'w-

may of right be honourably displaved, is

FORT NIAGARA.

always welcome to the eye, and cheering to the
heart, of those who regard it as their own.

The two British Forts were the scene of a deadly
struggle for supremacy between the Americans and
the English, in May, 1813 ; the former making the
attack, from their opposite Fort, and from batteries
along the river ; while Commotlore Chauncey, with
a fleet of American vessels, and 200 boats laden with
men, opened a bombardment from the ships, ami
landed their men. They were seconded in their
eflbrts by a discharge, from the cross-fire of the bat-
teries, of red-hot shot and shells, and succeeded in
driving the British from their entrenchments, and
setting fire to their forts. But the English rallied
after their retreat — re-organized — returned to the
charge — and, in a desperate struggle, succeeded in
driving their enemies back into the Lake, and
obtaining and keeping safe possession of their origi-
nal posts ; such are the vicissitudes of war !

The American Fort, Niagara, is of much older
date than the British Fort, St. George. As early as
I 7 II 9 , the spot on which Fort Niagara now stands,
was enclosed by a stockade, and used as a fortress
against the native Indians, by the celebrated French
commander. La Salle. The present fort was built
as early as 1725, by the French: but in 1759, it
was taken by Sir William Johnson, on the part of
the British, by whom it was, in 1796, ceded to the
Americans. In 1813 it was again taken by the
English; and, in 1815, again yielded to the United
States, with whom it has ever since continued, being
on the territory of the State of New York, the north-
west angle of which is the point of junction between

B 2

CANADA.

the Straits of Niagara and Lake Ontario, the spot
on which this fortress stands.

In a sketch of the history of this Fort, it is said,
that, during its early occupation by the French,
there were close and impregnable dungeons after-
wards discovered, with instruments of torture in
them for inflicting pain or death upon the victims
incarcerated there. It is added, that during the
American revolution, all kinds of atrocities were
perpetrated here, by an abandoned set of miscreants,
who lived by plunder and murder on this then
remote frontier. Here, it is said by an American
writer, » civilized Europe revelled with savage
America ; and ladies of education and refinement
mingled in the society of those, whose only distinc-
tion was to wield the bloody tomahawk and scalping
knife. There the squaws of the forest were raised
to eminence, and the most unholy unions between
them and officers of the highest rank, were smiled
upon and countenanced. There, in their strongholds
like a nest of vultures, they dwelt securely for seven
years, sallying forth from time to time, and preying
upon the distant settlements of the Mohawks and
busquehannahs. It was the depot of their plunder
and the place in which they planned all their forays’
and to which they returned to feast and riot, till the
our of plunder and murder returned again. The
dungeon of the mess-house, called the Black-Hole
was a strong, dark, and dismal place; and in one
coiner of the room was fixed the apparatus for
strangling the unhappy wretches who fell under the
displeasure of the despots that held rule here in
eaily days. A merchant residing at this Fort, in

FOKT NIAGARA.

1812, when an attack upon it was every hour
expected from the British, deposited some of his
most valuable articles in one of these dungeons for
security ; and having to go down into it with a light,
he found to his surprise, that the walls from top to
bottom were covered with the names of French per-
sons who had been there confined — some of them
accompanied by sentences in their native language —
but of which he was then too hurried to take notes.
Amonsr the countless mementoes thus left in this
dark abode of misery, he found to his great astonish-
ment the name of one of his own family, perhaps
an ancestor, distinctly engraved in large letters, well
preserved ! In 1805, when some excavations were
made to clean out an old drain, the skeleton of a
female, supposed to have been murdered here, was
found concealed. It was in this same Fort, whose
past history, perhaps, suggested the choice of such a
spot for such a deed, that a few years since, a person
named William Morgan, who had disclosed all he
knew of the secrets of Free-Masonry, was kidnapped
from the jail of Canandaigua, where he was confined
for debt, by some over-zealous Masons ; carried away
by them in a private carriage for upwards of a hun-
dred miles — locked by them in the powder magazine
at this place — kept there for three or four days with-
out discovery or detection, and never heard of more !
Such is the black and fearful history of this crime-
stained fortress, which at one time was of immense
strength, and covered an area of eight acres in space ;
a spot worthy to be called by the expressive name
originally bestowed on Kentucky — “ the dark and
bloody ground.”

CANADA.

Our passage across Lake Ontario was most agree-
able. The weather was very fine, the water smooth,
the society intelligent ; and everything connected
with the management of the steamboat admirably
conducted. We dined at three o’clock, and never
since we left England, had we been seated at a
table more perfectly English in all its service, arrange-
ments, fare, and attendance. Instead of the long and
narrow table of American steamboats and hotels,
with a multiplicity of dishes so crowded as often to
lap over each other, we had a table of ample width,
and comparatively few dishes ; but these were all
excellent. Instead of the common white earthen-
ware, without covers, coarse glass, and still coarser
cutlery and metal spoons, so constantly seen at the
public tables of America, we had here a service of
richly coloured and gilded china, with plated covers
for the dishes, fine crystal cut glass, cutlery of the
best quality, and massive silver spoons and forks.
The quiet case and gentlemanly leisure in which the
meal was served and partaken was the very opposite
of the hurry and bustle of an American dinner ; and
the dishes themselves were without exception all of
the best kind ; while on an American steamboat table
half of those placed there contain mere scraps,
which few persons touch, and which indeed do not
seem to be intended for any other purpose than to
fill up the space, and crowd the table with an
appearance of excessive abundance. The servants
too had been trained in a good school, and were all
remarkably clean, well dressed, and attentive, with-
out the running and scrambling which is character-
istic of American attendants. For this, however-

TORONTO.

they can scarcely be blamed, because where the
guests are all eager to finish their meals in ten or
fifteen minutes of time, and are each too busy on
their own account to spare any time to help their
neighbours, the dishes that require carving must he
taken from the table to the sideboard, and as each
servant has to go there for whatever is wanted in a
room of 100 or a cabin of 50 feet in length, it is only
by running at the swiftest speed that they can get
through their labours within the specified time. A
relief from all this noise and bustle was peculiarly
agreeable to us j and as we sat for half an hour after
dinner at the table, in light and cheerful conversation
according to the English fashion, the whole scene
furnished a stronger contrast to what we had
recently witnessed, in everything except language,
than is experienced in crossing the channel from
France to England.

After a most agreeable voyage across the Lake,
we reached Toronto at 6 p. m. and procured apart-
ments at the North American hotel.

We remained at Toronto for three weeks ; and
found our stay so agreeable that we should willingly
have prolonged it to three months, had the season
not been too far advanced to admit of our doing this.
We had the good fortune to possess letters of intro-
duction to some of the principal families of the
city, and these obtained for us the most hospitable
attentions on their parts, and favourable intro-
ductions to others. Added to this, I met an unusual
number of old friends and acquaintances assembled
here from difierent parts of the world, one from
Bombay, one from Madras, two from Calcutta, one

CANADA.

from Malta, one from Trinidad in the West Indies,
and a great number from different parts of England
and the United States. All this brought around
us a most delightful circle of friends, so that we felt
ourselves more at home here than we had done since
leaving London.

During our stay at Toronto, we took several
pleasant drives through the country surrounding the
town ; and had all our inquiries respecting the past
history and present condition of the province freely
answered. We mingled too with all ranks of society,
from that of the Lieut.-Governor, the Judges, and
the heads of departments, to the farmers from the
neighbouring districts, and persons engaged in trade,
whom we met on various occasions. The means of
acquiring correct information were therefore placed
within our reach ; and from these, added to personal
investigation, the following sketch of Toronto was
compiled.

CHAP. IL

Sketch of the history of York or Toronto—Position of the
(own — Size, plan, streets — Wooden side-walks — Long plank
turnpike road — Superiority in pleasure and economy to
macadamized roads — Public edifices-— Parliament House and
offices— Hall of Representatives— Legislative council-chamber

College buildings and grounds— Funds for endowment —

Course and cost of education — Government House — Churches,

Episcopal service — Differences in English and American

Churches — Newspapers — Judicial establishment — Professions
of law and medicine — Hospital and asylum — Emigrant office
— Banks and currency — Municipal government.

It is now about thirty years since the town of York
was first founded here. For many years it continued
to be a mere village of wooden houses, the settlement
being so insignificant that it was generally called
“ Little York and as the streets were unpaved, and
often impassable in the rainy season, it was occasion-
ally called “ Dirty Little York.” As this was an
undignified combination of epithets for the metro-
polis of Upper Canada, an act of the Legislature
was passed about eight years since, by which its
name was changed to Toronto. It is now, indeed,
neither “little” nor “ dirty;” but, both in size and
cleanliness, may rank with many of the provincial
capitals of the United States. It is about six jears
since, that it took its first start towards a more rapid

CANADA.

increase in size and numbers. At that period the
population was estimated at 4,000; and there were
hut two brick edifices in the town. At present it
numbers about 13,000 inhabitants, and it has more
than two hundred brick buildings. Besides these,
there are a great number of pretty villas, and genteel
cottage residences, with gardens and lawns, within the
distance of a mile from the city, which add greatly to
Its beauty, and give proof of the taste, comfort, and
even opulence, of the higher classes of the com-
munity, by whom these detached dwellings are chiefly
occupied. ^

The position of Toronto is highly advantageous.
It lies on the northern shore of a bay, formed by a
ong low strip of sand and alluvium, cast up bv the
river Don, a little to the eastward of the town,' and
stretching itself along westerly, in a line almost
parallel to the inner shore. This forms a bay of
about SIX miles in depth, and ten in breadth. It is
sufficiently protected from the winds and seas of the
ake Ontario, by the strip of low land described ;

entrance of an enemy’s
bv whil ® narrowness of the only channel

onP^l a ’ constructing to supersede an older
one placed nearer to the town.

‘It approaching

ose to tlm water’s edge, stands the City of

borXr\ har/^%"'^*^?®''”’ eastern, and western
count; Lr ^®"tly undulated tracts of

It >1 ^ cleared and cultivated. On the south

with a nlrmV hcttofT ®

belt of trees rising apparently almost

TORONTO.

out of the Lake, and terminating in the western
point. On this point is a lighthouse, just opposite to
the Fort, with the narrows or channel of entrance
between them. This strip of land, for it is nothing
more, bears the singularly inappropriate name of
“Gibraltar,” to which it is in every respect as dis-
similar as can possibly be imagined. A little to the
westward of the entrance is a small stream called the
Humber, but neither it nor the Don are navigable at
any distance from the Lake.

Fhe plan of Toronto is as regular and sym-
metrical as that of any American city, and its streets
are as broad as those of llochester or Buffalo. The
principal sti*eets run parallel to the Lake, and these
are intersected by others running at right angles to
them. Along the edge of the hay there has been
judiciously left a sufficient space to form a fine drive
or promenade ; and there being here a number of
excellent mansions with gardens, fronting the Lake,
as well as the public buildings of the Parliament
House and Government offices, the town looks
remarkably well in approaching it by water. It
suffers under the same disadvantage, however, that all
towns having a perfectly level site must do, in the
entire absence of the picturesque. But although no
good drawing or striking view could be taken of
Toronto from any point on the same level, the bird’s-
eye and panoramic view to he had of it from the roof
of the Parliament House, is really beautiful, and well
worth the traveller’s attention.

The Fish-market at Toronto — in a little bay, just
within the projecting wharfj at which the landing is

CANADA.

principally effected— is often a scene of great interest
and variety, from the number of Indians who are
seen there, mixed with the Canadians. From this
point, just opposite the City Hotel, the accompany-
ing view IS taken ; and will give an accurate idea
of the close abroach of the houses to the steep bank
nsing from the water, and the general character of
the ordinary buildings of the town ♦

King Street.

This extends for nearly two miles in length4s about
eighty feet in breadth-and has on each side a num-

a^d stoir^^Tf edifices, as stores

and shops They ar^ intermingled, it is true, with

many smaller ones of wood ; but these are everv

year giving place to more substantial building

Ihe range of this street is agreeably diversified by

and The^r^ Market!

ength, with a fine vista into the country, amidst
at either extremity. The centres

1 he oLacdaS

nd the side-walks are chiefly, though not entirelv

. “I ?- P'r ae»Teh7^

iTwhil'

it is extrcm 1 instead of wood,

‘hat exper en ^ t 1

pave™err,ht«ntrof”K T

e centre of Broadway, at New York,

* See Plate I. ’

TORONTO.

to the smootli and noiseless wooden pavement oppo-
site the City Hall and Park, where this transition
takes place.

Not only are these wooden side-walks in general
use here, but, in one instance, planks of fir have been
used for making an extensive road into the country,
leading eastward from Toronto to Kingston. We
drove about six miles out on tbis road beyond the
river Don, and I never remember to have travelled
so smoothly. The planks composing the road are
about fifteen feet in length, a foot in breadth, and an
inch in thickness ; they are sawn smoothly, but are
not planed. The road is first levelled, and on the
bed thus formed, these planks are laid across trans-
versely, and not lengthwise as in the side -walks
A small portion of soil and dust is strewed over the
whole, to prevent unnecessary friction on the wooden
surface ; so that unless the attention of the traveller
was called to the fact, he would not perceive the
planks over which he was driving, though he would
recognize the unusual smoothness of the road by the
motion. But while to the casual observer it presents
the same earthy and dusty appearance as any other
road, there arc no ruts or pits in it — scarcely indeed
a mark of the horses’ feet or carriage-wheels that
pass over it. On close examination, however, he
will see the separate planks, and trace their lines
of junction, and he will also hear the peculiar dull
smooth sound, given out by the low rumbling of his
vehicle over this wooden platform. In addition to
the great comfort of driving on such a road as this,
I was glad to learn that it is so much less expensive
here, where pine wood is abundant, than the mac-

CANADA.

adamized roads, that it is likely to be extensively
used over all the country in' future. A road of the
former description, costs at least £1000 per mile,
and requires reparation in this climate almost every
year. A road of the latter kind can be well made
for £.500 a mile, in the first instance, and would not
require to be repaired more than once in ten years.
1 he present road has been laid down for six years,
without a single plank having been required to be
removed ; and the general impression here is, that
It would last six years longer if left untouched, before
It would require any reparation whatever.

Of the public edifices of Toronto, the Parliament
House and Public OflSces are the principal : these
are three plain structures of brick— a centre and two
wings— the former intended to be adorned with a
portico and entablature, and the latter intended to
be connected with the centre by open arcades; but
this IS not yet accomplished. The Hall of Repre-
se^atives, or House of Commons, is a plain but
sufficiently spacious apartment, on the ground-floor.
A sofa, elevated about a foot above the general level,
serves for the Speaker’s chair ; while the members
sit around on chairs, all on the same level, each
having a small desk, with drawers, and pens and
ink, as in the Legislative Halls in the United States.
Pelow the bar is a space, under the gallery, to which
admittance can be obtained only through the intro-
duction of a member; but to the gallery above this,
and fronting the Speaker, the public are freely
admitted at their pleasure. The Hall of the Legis-
lative Council, corresponding to the House of Lords,

IS on the same level, on the other side of the main

TORONTO.

1.5

entrance. This is richly carpeted — while in the
Lower House the floor was bare ; it is also adorned
with rich draperies of curtains, gilded cornices,
carved ceiling, and other corresponding ornaments.
At one end is the Throne, from which the Repre-
sentative of the Majesty of England, in the person
of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province for the
time being, reads or delivers his Speeeh at the open-
ing or closing of the Session, just as is done by the
Sovereign in the Mother-Country. This Throne is
of fine dark polished wood, with an overhanging
canopy, lined with deep crimson velvet, surmounted
by the crown. The chair of state — the ascent to
which is by three or four projeeting semicircular
steps, carpeted with crimson cloth — is elaborately
carved with suitable devices, for the support of a
representative of royalty — though the work was exe-
cuted, I learnt, by a republican carver, in the demo-
cratic city of New York !

The Parliament was not in being at tbe time of
our visit, so that we saw nothing of its proceedings ;
and as, if the union between the two Provinces should
take place, Toronto would no longer be the metro-
polis of Upper Canada, which would cease to have a
separate and independent existenee, it is extremely
probable, that no further Parliament will ever be
convened in this city, and that the Parliament
House will be converted to some other purpose.*

The College of Toronto embraces a number of
excellent brick buildings, surrounded with lawn and
gardens, and is well adapted for the education of

* This has since taken place — the Act of Union for the two
Canadas having abolished the Legislature here.

CANADA.

youth. It was built about twelve years since, out of
funds arising from a grant of the reserved Crown
Lands, 250,000 acres being appropriated to this
purpose ; the money produced by its sale from time
to time being invested under the direction of a
Board of Trustees. When the eountry shall he
filled up with population, these lands will be of
immense value, and the endowment of the college will
be munificent. The number of students is at present
about 120, of whom two-thirds at least are from the
families residing in Toronto. The education being
collegiate and classical, is not so well adapted to boys
from the country who intend to follow the occupa-
tion of their fathers as farmers, as it is to young
gentlemen destined for professional and official pur-
suits ; and therefore, it is not so much frequented by
the former class as by the latter. The annual cost
of the students does not exceed £30 a year for
tuition and board. Under the direction of its able
president and competent assistants, the education of
the boys is well conducted, and their health and
morals carefully protected.

The Government House, which is nearly opposite
to the College Buildings, is the least ostentatious
residence of a Colonial Governor to be found any
where perhaps in the British dominions. The
presence of the sentries on guard at the entrance is
the only circumstance that would lead a passer-by to
imagine that here resides the Representative of the
Majesty of England. The interior is fitted up with
sufficient neatness and good taste, to show that it is
the^ residence of a gentleman ; and the parties given
m it by Sir George and Lady Arthur were charac-

TORONTO.

terized by great elegance : but the exterior of the
edifice would never lead one to suspect this.

There are eight churches in Toronto. The
largest and handsomest is that of the Established
church of England. This was partly destroyed by
fire a few years since, and has been recently rebuilt
from the subscriptions of the inhabitants, nearly all
the more wealthy families here belonging to tbe
Establishment. It is built of stone, has a spacious
and comfortable interior, a lofty tower of good archi-
tecture, but crowned by an abridgment of a spire
above this, which is mean in its proportions, and
this meanness not at all redeemed by its glittering
coat of white tin-plate, with which the spire alone is
covered. The Kirk of Scotland, also an Established
church in the colonies, stands near it, and though
smaller, is a fine building. The Roman Catholic
church, in size, and rank of architecture, comes
next to the two named. The other churches, com-
prising the Wesleyan and the Primitive Methodists,
the Secession church of Scotland, the Congrega-
tional, and the Baptist, for coloured persons only,*
are smaller and less imposing in their appearance,
but sufficiently large and commodious for their
respective congregations.

We attended the public service in the Established
church on the three Sundays of our stay here, and
heard some excellent sermons from the Rev. Mr.
Grassett, the officiating clergyman, the Bishop of
Toronto being absent on a confirmation tour. There
were several points of contrast between the congre-

* This distinction ought not to exist on British ground ; but
the proximity of tlie United States accounts for it.

CANADA.

f,n-ation of tliis, the first English church we had seen
for nearly three years, and the congregations of
America, with which we had for some time been
so familiar, as well as minor ones, which pressed
themselves on our attention. The most striking
difference was in the aspect of the congregation.
In the United States, scarcely any distinction is
seen, cithei in the size of the pews, their furniture
and decoration, or in the apparel of the persons who
occupy them ; all the seats are equally large, and
eijually well fitted, and all the congregation are so
well dressed, that it would be difficult to determine,
by any external appearance, the relative rank,
wealth, or condition, of any of the individuals or
families present. Here, on the contrary, the dis-
tmction was very marked : some of the pews were
large and elegantly furnished, others were small
without any furniture at all in them; some of the
persons were elegantly dressed, others were in very
iiomely, though always decent apparel. Then the
military attending the church in large numbers,
there was the tramp of some 300 or 400 men, pre-
ceded by the band of the regiment, playing a gay
march, the officers on horseback, and on foot a
detachment of provincial dragoons, with their steel
scabbards clanging against the pavement as they
a ighted and walked ; the officers of the infantry
enteiing in bright scarlet and gold, those of the
royal artillery in blue and red, the lieutenant-gover-
nor, with cocked hat and plumes, and his aides-de-
camp and staff similarly attired, accompanying the
ad.es and children of the family to the governor’s
pew, and causing all eyes to be directed to their

TORONTO.

movements. Nothing like this is ever seen in the
American churches. When at Washington, we
attended the Episcopal church of Dr. Hawley, and
there saw Mr. Van Buren, the President of the
United States, enter in plain clothes, not distin-
guishable from any other individual, walking from the
Government House alone, and without a single attem
dant, taking his seat in a pew with other gentlemen,
and coming in and going out with no more of recog-
nition than any other of the individuals by whom he
was surrounded. The contrast was therefore very
striking.

Here, too, for the first time since leaving home,
we recognized the parish clerk, occupying his desk
beneath the minister, reading the responses, and
giving out the psalms in the same nasal tone, and
with the same defective and uneducated manner,
which characterizes that race in England. In the
American churches no clerk is ever seen ; this
perhaps is a defect, because the responses are very
faintly uttered by the congregation. In the English
churches, the clerks are almost invariably illiterate
and vulgar men, who spoil the effect of the responses
by their drawling pronunciation. This also is a
defect ; indeed, both are bad, but the last is certainly
worse than the first. The remedy for both would
be to have a second clergyman as an assistant minis-
ter — a student of divinity not yet ordained, but well
educated, and capable of reading with dignity and
propriety, though he might not have finished his
studies. This would be an excellent preparation
for the pulpit, and would add to the solemnity and
pleasure of the service in a very high degree. In

CANADA.

short, the vei-y best readers that the colleges or
schools could furnish, ought only to be employed in
this duty, though at present no attention seems to
he paid to this indispensable qualification.*

The elevated pulpit of the church here, like those
in England, was fitted to receive only one person,
and had a box-like and confined appearance, after
the ample space and more moderate elevation of the
platform pulpits of America, where five or six minis-
ters may sit beside each other on the same sofa,
when occasion renders this desirable. Here, too,
besides the great elevation and narrow space of the
pulpit, its decorations of velvet were adorned with
gold lace, an ornament that I never remember to
have seen in the churches of the United States.
The college cap and black silk gloves of the clergy-
inan, his stately step as he trod the aisle or ascended
the pulpit, the attendance of the beadle to open and
close the pulpit or desk door, and to follow close
upon his person, all these were parts of the “ pomp
and circumstance" of worship which we had not
witnessed before, during all our journeying on this
continent, and it seemed to us more than ever incon-
sistent with the purity and simplicity of the gospel.

The organ of the church had been destroyed by
tire, and had not since been replaced, so that the
music and singing was heard to great disadvantage.
;>uch as It was, however, it was very inferior to the
mere vocal music of the choirs of the smallest Arne-
ncan churches, even when there are no organs ; but

so clergyman read the service

TORONTO.

where there are always sure to be a number of well-
trained singers, selected with great care, and paid
for their services as part of the church establish-
ment, while the members of the congregation join
with more hearty co-operation in this part of public
worship. Considering how important and how im-
pressive this portion of divine service might be made
when well conducted, and how feeble and inefficient
it is when otherwise, I cannot but think that as
much pains ought to be bestowed upon it, as upon
any other branch of the establishment. It is a sound
maxim — that whatever is worth doing at all, is worth
doing well; and if sound learning, purity of life,
Christian doctrine, and accurate and impressive deli-
very, ought to be the qualifications of the preacher,
the reading or responding clerk ought not to be infe-
rior in the last particular to his pastor ; while, for
the chanting and singing of the beautiful psalmody
which the Church now possesses, accomplished voca-
lists ought to be furnished, at the expense of the
same fund as that by which the other two are sup-
ported, their services being equally necessary to the
completeness of the whole.

There was one American feature in this English
church, however, which I was very glad to see ; and
it is so good that it ought to become genei-al :
namely, the addition of this beautiful comment on
the Law of Moses, which is appended to the Ten
Commandments —

“ Hear also what our Lord Jesus Christ saith — Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. This is the first and
greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets.”

CANADA.

I saw this sentence inscribed in letters of gold,
on the tablets above the communion table, following
immediately after the Table of the Ten Command-
ments j and it was pleasing to observe it there,
where I never remember to have seen it before in
any church of England. I should have been still
more pleased, however, had the American example
been followed out completely, by the public reading
of this sentence, as a regular part of the service,
alter the recital of the Commandments at the Com-
munion Table ; because there is nothing that can be
more advantageously presented, again and again, to
the mind than this great truth : that the duty of
loving our neighbour as ourselves, is as imperative
as that of loving our Creator} and that no religion
is worthy the name, if it does not embrace a belief
m this fundamental doctrine, and enforce the prac-
tice as well as the profession of this sublime duty.

here are nine newspapers in Toronto, chiefly
weekly, some twice and some three times a week, but
none daily. By these, all shades of political and
religious opinions are represented: the Patriot,
published twice a week, is high Tory, or ultra Con
smwative} the^^^^^^^ t^L a

»eJk t Star, three limes a

a wik R 9“ ” i-lhe Examiner, once

a week Reformer ;_lhe Globe, also weekly, extreme
Radte J i-ihe Church, Episcopalian ;-the CoS
ftesbytenan ;_the Guardian. Methodist ; anSe

TORONTO.

be great ; few persons ever adverting to their articles
or opinions in general conversation ; and none of
them being so extensively read as newspapers are
even in England.

Among the public officers may be named those of
the Receiver-General, of the Inspector-General, and
of the Surveyor-General of Crown Lands and Clergy
Reserves, who has upwards of 120 deputy-surveyors
employed under him, in different parts of the Pro-
vince, in the survey of lands in their respective
districts.

The Courts of Law held in Toronto consist of the
Court of Queen’s Bench, with a Chief Justice, four
Puisne Judges, and an Attorney and Solicitor-
General ; a Clerk of the Crown and Pleas, and
Deputies in each District. There is also a High
Court of Chancery, of which the Lieutenant-Governor
is the Chancellor, assisted by a legal gentleman as
Vice-Chancellor, and a Registrar. From this last,
causes may be sent up to the Court of Appeal,
consisting of the Lieutenant-Governor and Council,
the Vice-Chancellor, and the Judges of the Court
of Queen’s Bench.

There are nearly a hundred Barristers in the
Upper Province, all of whom are also Attorneys,
according to the usage of the United States, and
contrary to that of England ; and there are nearly
200 Notaries regularly licensed to practise. The
talents of the bar and the bench are quite equal to
the usual standard of Colonial qualification. Chief
Justice Robinson is a man of very superior abilities
and attainments, whose popularity is almost universal

CANADA.

in tile Province, and whose influence is greater
perhaps than that of any other individual in it.

The Medical Profession is unusually numerous.
There is a Medical Board, constituted under an act
of the Imperial Parliament, 59th of Geo. the 3rd,
consisting of 15 members, which sit at Toronto!
Under the license of this Board there are now about
300 practitioners of medicine and surgery in the
Province. There is a General Hospital in the city,
which IS on a liberal foundation, and is very admi-
rably conducted. There is also a Benevolent Insti-
tution for the relief of widows and orphans, as well
as a House of Refuge for giving subsistence and
employment to those who are found in a state of des-
titution in the streets.

An Emigrant Offlce, for Upper Canada, exists
at loronto, and is presided over by an able and
experienced Superintendent, Mr. Hawk, whose duty
It IS to receiye such emigrants as arrive, forward
them to their respective destinations, assist them
with advice, and sometimes with means of transport
so as to get them as speedily as possible into the way
ot obtaining employment for their labour, or of pur-
chasing lands if they desire it. The sums expended
m this service are considerable ; but the ofiice is one
lat well deserves the liberal support of the govern-
ment; for here, population is wealth— all that is
wanting, indeed, to the full developeraent of the vast
resources of Canada, is a supply of healthy, vigoroTs
sober, and industrious emigrants ; who, if they come
with nothing but the labour of their own hands
ervc to augment the national wealth from the first

TORONTO.

‘25

day they begin to clear and till the soil ; but who, if
they bring with them capital, also tend of course
still more to advance the prosperity of their new
home.

There are several banks in Toronto, and all in
good credit. There has been a suspension of specie
payments, for a limited period, authorized by law as
in the United States ; hut they have long since
resumed, and the currency, therefore, is not here in
the same decayed condition, as it is on the opposite
side of the Lake. The bank-notes issued here
resemble the American ones, being for dollars and
not pounds sterling; and being also elaborately
ornamented in the engraving, and circulated till they
become so ragged and dirty, that it is sometimes
difficult to make out their amount or place of

issue. . • 1. r

The municipal government of the city consists ot

a mayor and aldermen, elected by the suffrages of
the householders. To these belong the power of
licensing places for the sale of ardent spirits ; and
it is said that with a view to strengthen themselves
in their position, the Tory party, who are now in the
ascendant in the municipal body, have issued more
licenses than were ever known before— every person
so licensed being one of their own voters ! Certain
it is, that the number is excessive ; for in a short
walk of little more than a hundred yards, in passing
from our hotel to the cathedral of the Established
Church, we counted no less than fourteen spirit or
dram-shops, in Church Street, within a few steps of
the sacred edifice itself ; just as around St. Patricks
Cathedral in Dublin, and Westminster Abbey m

CANADA.

London, there are to be found more of these dens of
infamy than in any similar extent of space in either
of these populous cities ! Surely the bishops, deans,
and chapters should look to this.

There is a Lemperance Society here, on the prin-
ciple of total abstinence from all that can intoxicate ;
but their numbers are few, the higher classes of
society, and the Episcopal clergy, withholding their
patronage and support. During one of the even-
ings of my stay here, I delivered a public address on
the subject of rempcrance in the Wesleyan Methodist
Church, but though it was very numerously attended,
there were very few of the leading families among
the auditory ; and the only members of the clergy
present were a Congregational minister and a Roman
Catholic priest. The absence of all the heads of the
community on this occasion could not be attributed to
any other cause than their indifference or unwilling-
ness to countenance or uphold the Temperance cause ;
for when my lectures on Egypt and Palestine were
given in the same building, one course before and
one after the Temperance address, the church was
crowded to excess, and there was scarcely a familv
of any note or influence absent. The Lieutenant-
Governor, the Chief Justice, and the other official
dignitaries of the province and city, attended with
their families regularly for three nights in succession
at each course, and in several instances put aside
other engagements, to enable them to be present ;
but the Temperance Reformation was to them
evidently an unpopular and unattractive subject ;
although the time will perhaps come, when their
attention being enlisted in its examination, they will

TOKOS TO.

discover, as all have done who have yet examined it
thoroughly, that there is no single subject that can he
named, in which the interests of humanity are more
involved than this ; and that it is impossible to assist
in a more benevolent work than that of endeavour-
ing, by precept and example, to elevate the lower
classes from the misery and degradation into which
intemperance plunges so many of its unhappy victims,
and rescue them from their own follies and crimes.

* The late splendid meeting of rank, wealth, and piety, in
Dublin, to present a Testimonial to Father Mathew, is a happy
omen of future good.

chap. IJI.

Ss”“ !?i™

An,ericat.s-A,nerica„?n».rn dislike of the

capital — Progress made bv^ r^"glish

Advance in populatbn aSd '? ‘"“‘yfive years-

population— GeLral loyaltj Ld increase of

feuperaddition of hatred anH ®“®‘=i'raent to British rule-
meeting of Upper Sadians "rn"’P‘ ^^e^ica-Great
posed restoration of the monnmpnt^'^r Pro-

as we did iramodiatoly from tte Uri W Sw"* °T
certain points of rp«oTnki C/nited States, with

similarity, between the “bJe^L

f«« be worth «»a-

n.ewri"pta%”r r p'™™ “>« ^y"-

wooden houses, fhe pSs or ?

of the foot-pavement fnf J^^^h^ons at the side

and the practice of heapbl^'^'"^ T* ’

opposite the shop-doors tl ^ ^

large and thriving business of a

the stage-coaches^ of Pnil li observe also that

United StaJ^d SluL* ‘''T *e

at the sides, and in exfer; " ®”Stand, being open
" “""“r and interior exactly like

TORONTO.

‘29

those seen at Rochester and Buffalo. The American
practice of attaching Bar-rooms to the principal
hotels, and of large numbers of persons meeting there
to drink, as well as the custom of sitting around the
outer doors of the hotels, on the steps, and in the
balconv, or the streets prevails here ; and smoking
segars in the streets is as prevalent in Toronto as it
is in the cities of America, though rarely seen in
England.

Of the points of dissimilarity there are, however,
many more than points of resemblance; some of
them to the advantage, but others to the reproach of
the Canadians. One of the first of these points that
struck us, was the solicitation of beggars. We had
been nearly three years in the United States without
seeing an American beggar in the streets, but we had
not been landed five minutes in Toronto before we
were accosted by several, between the wharf and
our hotel. In the States we had never seen women
employed in manual labour ; here we witnessed
several instances of it ; and of ragged, swearing, and
profligate boys, we saw a greater number in Toronto,
than in the largest cities of the Union. On the
other hand, we saw no persons here who chewed
tobacco ; there was less of hurrying and driving to
and fro in the streets ; the shopkeepers were all more
civil and obliging, the servants more respectful and
attentive, and all classes more polite. Even at the
hotel, when the ladies rose to retire from the table, the
gentlemen all rose, and stood till they had withdrawn,
a custom we had never once seen observed at the
public tables in America ; though there, the respect
and deference to the sex is shown in another way, by

CANADA.

no gentleman being permitted to take his place until
the ladies are first seated.

1 he state of society in Toronto appeared to us
peculiarly agreeable. We had the advantage, it is
true, of mingling with the best ; but I may say, with
the strictest truth, that these appeared to me to
combine all the requisites of the most perfect social
intercourse — elegance without ostentation, compe-
tency without extravagance, learning without pe-
dantry, politeness without frivolity, hospitality
without intemperance, and a manly ‘frankness and
candour without undue familiarity. We dined out
more frequently at Toronto, in the course of the
three weeks we passed here, than in the United
Mates in the space of three years ; and there was a
heartiness and cordiality, which seemed to indicate
the most perfect confidence in the good sense and
onour of all present : the very opposite of the cold
and cautious look and manner, so frequently ob-
^rva e in the intercourse of Americans with their
Unghsh visitors in the United States. The evenina-
parties were animated without being overcrowded*^
and the air of gaiety thrown over them by the pre-
sence of many of the military officers of the garrison,
and the superior carriage and great elegance in the
nanners of the ladies, whether they were grouped in

sTrikLTT’ " dance. lere\erv

th A”™® "’P'“ of oonversation here, is

ho comparative progress made bj the Americans and
Canadians m their respootivo territories. AlZt
•oil Lnghsh travellers .ho have passed from ol

TOIIONTO.

country into the other, have given it as their opinion
that Canada is far behind the United States in enter-
prise and progress ; and they attribute this difference
to the superiority of republican over monarchical
institutions. The British residents here, appeared
to me to be as sensitive to these remarks, as the
Americans are to any observations of English
travellers which in any way disparages their country
or its institutions. Great pains are accordingly taken
by the Canadians, to show that in some instances,
this superiority of America to Canada is imaginary
and not real ; and in others, where it may be regarded
as real, it is not so much owing to American enter-
prize, as it is to English liberality in lending them
a large amount of capital to carry forward their great
public works, which capital, if it had been invested
in Canada instead of the United States, would have
produced results equally advantageous to this country.
Upon this subject. Chief Justice Robinson in his
able work “ On Canada and tbe Canada Bill ” says ;
“ Upon sober reflection and comparison, it appears
that a plain statement of facts will amount very
nearly to this : that Irishmen have dug in America
an astonishing number of canals, and made a pro-
digious extent of rail-roads, which Englishmen have
paid for ; and when these material ingredients in a
public work are allowed for, namely, the labour of
constructing them, and the chai’ge for that labour,
the balance of merit that remains seems pretty much
confined to the ingenuity of the contrivance, and
to a vast energy in borrowing, which I apprehend
it may be the secret wish of some persons in this
country, had not been so industriously exerted.’’

CANADA.

S‘2

Anothei- writer, in one of the numbers of the
Patriot, endeavours to show the advance which
Toronto has made within a given period ; and has
succeeded in proving it to be considerable, as will be
seen by the following extracts ;

“ The Government Gazette, and another small newspaper at
Kingston, were the only newspapers published in the whole pro-
vince, about twenty-five years ago ; there are now nine printed
Toronto alone. Within that period, the mail was conveyed
by land from Montreal to York once in two weeks ; and thence
westward once every month ; and the communication by water
was so tedious and uncertain, that the recollections of the older
inhabitants seem now to border on the marvellous. Eight or
nine post-offices then sufficed for the few insignificant towns or
villages scattered along the frontier. At this time there are 238
post-offices in the Upper Province alone, and at Toronto
20 mails are made up every week, a similar number bein<»
received. “

“ From the duties levied at Quebec in 1816, Upper Canada
received £21,584 17s. 6d., the proportion being determined by
the amount of goods passed at the Coteau du Lac. Since 1817,
the proportion has been based upon the comparative population
of the two Provinces ; in that year it was stated to be one-fifth ;
at later periods it was increased to one-fourth, one-third, and
under the last agreement, which expires this year, 38^ per cent.,
upon which calculation this Province received for 1839, £61 678
16s. 3d., which, at an ad valorem duty of 2i per cent., would
show the value of British goods imported into Upper Canada
alone to be, two and a half millions of pounds sterling 1
“ The only duties upon goods at this port, are upon those
brought from the United States In 1816, the year after the
war, they were £350 6s. 3d., in 1839, £5,726 11s. 3d. The
amount received, affords very little Information in regard to the
real extent of this trade, the quantity illegally introduced or very
much undervalued, being vastly greater than the entries on the
Custom House books. Of tea alone, it is supposed that not less

TORONTO.

than 3,000 chests were clandestinely landed in this port during
tlie last year. All kinds of grain are admitted duty free.

“ In the belief that a very great change had taken place in
our mercantile transactions within a few years, and that we are
becoming less dependent on the importers of the Lower Pro-
vince, application was made to 49 distinct wholesale or retail
traders residing in Toronto, respecting the amount of goods
imported by them, direct from Great Britain, in 1839 ; when the
whole was ascertained to be considerably over £306,000 sterling,
without including duties in Lower Canada, inland transportation,
and other charges in the country. The duties are uniform, but
the other expenses vary materially, according to the nature of
the goods, circulating very large sums of money, and affording
employment to many hundreds, perhaps thousands of indivi-
duals.

A fact connected with this subject, is worthy of immediate
consideration by mercantile men. The Canada Marine Assurance
Company lately declared a dividend of 50 per cent, on their
capital paid in ; and the Ottawa and Rideau Forwarding Com-
pany are said to have divided last year a profit of 40 per cent. !

“ From this statement, confined to a single branch, some
approximation to the great amount of business now transacted
at Toronto, might be made; with a great probability that it is
yet only in its infancy ; founded on the extraordinary increase of
a superior class of houses now building in all directions, and the
high premiums given for leases of the corporation water-lots, over
and above the heavy expenditure, required by the conditions, to
be incurred upon them.

These energetic improvements are based upon a conviction
of the superior local advantages of this place, for becoming the
commercial metropolis of the whole of Upper Canada above
Prince Edward District.

“ There is a broad and indefinite extent of country north of
Toronto, capable of supporting a population equal to that of the
whole Province at tliis time, which cannot, with advantage, receive
merchandise by any other channel.

The Home District (including Simcoe) contains 51 town-
ships, besides the city of Toronto ; Markham is the most popu-

CANADA.

lous, and had not, by the last census, 6,000 inhabitants; 18 other
townships did not average 430 each ; and there are 15 more,
which being almost uninhabited, have never furnished any returns.
All these townships are becoming gradually more accessible by
the extension of good roads. But how vast would be the accele-
ration of that progress, and the corresponding increased con-
sumption of merchandise, by the construction of a railroad
through or near such an extent of valuable land, connecting
Lakes Ontario and Huron. Without dwelling upon the import-
ance of its being the most direct line from Oswego to Michigan,
the undertaking would be of such very great advantage to this
city, that, far beyond any other project, it deserves instant and
vigorous exertion to effect it without further delay. A scientific
survey by an able and experienced geologist, of the height of
land between the two lakes, would make known the existence
and location of valuable mineral substances usually occurring in
such regions. It is certain that the northern shores of Lake
Superior abound in such productions, which the distance and
difficulty of transport have hitherto prevented being worked with
profit.

When the Welland Canal is enlarged, and the improvements
of the Grand River completed, the whole of the immense fertile
region above Niagara, cannot have access to any considerable
depot of British manufactures, nearer than this port.”

To these may be appended two remarkable pas-
sages from Chief Justice Robinson^s work, before
adverted to, which will still more strikingly exhibit
the progress made by Upper Canada, at least in
population and improvement. The passages are
these —

“ There are people in Upper Canada still living who saw it
when it contained not a cultivated farm, nor any white inhabit-
ants, but a few fur-traders and soldiers, and perhaps ten or a
dozen French families, on the south side of the Detroit river.

1 can myself remember when its population was estimated at less
than 30,000; in 1812 it was supposed to be about 70,000; in

TORONTO.

1822, 130,000; and in 1837, the census showed a population
of 396,000 ; but all the townships were not then returned. The
number I suppose to amount now to something between 450,000
and 500,000. These are all living in the enjoyment of the Eng-
lish law, both civil and criminal, administered in the same manner
as in England. The English language is universally spoken ; and
recent events have shown that there is among the people generally
a sound feeling of attachment to their constitution and govern-
ment, a strong sense of duty to their Sovereign, and a determi-
nation to resist any danger that seems to threaten their connection
with the British Crown/^ p. 32.

‘‘ Fifty years ago the province was one vast wilderness. If in
the time that has passed, the inhabitants, beside clearing their
farms, had done nothing more than make the highways, which
have enabled them to take their grain to market, and to pass from
one district to another, throughout this extensive territory, they
could hardly have seemed to deserve much reproach. But besides
doing this, they have within the period built numerous lighthouses;
constructed expensive artificial harbours ; made many miles of
macadamized roads, at an expense probably little short of
200,000/. ; completed the Welland canal, at a cost of 400,000/. ;
expended 300,000/. on the St. Lawrence canal ; constructed the
Burlington Bay canal, the Des Jardiiis canal, and the Grand
River navigation ; and there are other works in progress. They
have also made expensive surveys with the view of ascertaining
the practicability of further improvements. In addition to these,
several important works of a similar description have been success-
fully carried through by private enterprise ; such as the Niagara
docks, the Tay navigation, &c.” p. 57.

The population of Toronto has gone on all this
while progressively increasing. The official returns
do not go further back than 1833, but in 1830 —
persons resident here at that time think there were
not then more than 1,200 persons, while now, only

D 2

CANADA.

ten years after, there are upwards of 13,000.
following is the official return :

The

1833

1834

1835

1836

9,254

9,765

9,654

10,871

1837

1838

1839

1840

12,571

12,153

12,883

13,764

Of the feeling of this population towards the
British Government, no one that associated with the
people could doubt for a moment, that it was one of
strong attachment, mingled with a sentiment of pride,
at being the subjects of so great a nation. It is true
that the disaffected having been recently driven out,
and the leaders of the late rebellion being exiled or
transported, there is little encouragement for the
expression of disloyalty now, so that a feeling of
hostility may exist in some who have the prudence to
suppress its display. This is just possible : but if the
feeling exists at all in any who remain, they must be
very few. I should say, indeed, that all the past
history, as well as the present aspect, of this Province,
and its population, goes to prove that they are as
loyal in their attachment to England, as any class of
their fellow-subjects at home. Unfortunately, there
are some among them who seem to think, that loyalty
does not consist merely in loving their own monarch,
and preferring their own institutions to every other ;
but that it embraces also contempt for other coun’
tries, and hatred towards other institutions and other
people. Among these— and they embrace a very
arge portion of all ranks of society— every oppor-
unity is seized of disparaging America and the
Americans, and speaking of them with unmeasured

TORONTO.

contempt. Indeed I heard more of this feeling ex-
pressed in Toronto, towards the institutions and
people of the United States, in our short stay of three
weeks, than I had heard of censure or condemnation
of English institutions and English people, during
all the three years that we had passed among the
Americans ; and when I was appealed to, as having
so recently travelled through that country, great dis-
appointment was usually expressed at my not con-
curring in their unfavourable views.

During the first week of our stay at Toronto, a
most interesting meeting took place, on Queenstown
Heights, in the Niagara District, on the opposite
side of the Lake Ontario, at which it was my inten-
tion to have been present : but on the morning on
which it took place, I was seized with an attack of
cholera, which confined me to my bed. From the
accounts given me of the meeting by those present,
it was one of the largest and most animated that had
ever taken place in Upper Canada. The occasion
of its being held was this ; A lofty column had been
erected on Queenstown Heights over the remains of
the late gallant Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, who
fell near the spot, while cheering on his men, at the
battle of Queenstown, against the Americans, in 1814.
The universal popularity of the General, as a civil
governor as well as a military commander, had caused
this monument to be regarded with more affectionate
veneration than any other structure in the Province.
A miscreant, named Lett, one of the most abandoned
of the Canadian rebel party, who had escaped into
the United States territory, knowing this feeling of
attachment to the name and memory of General

CANADA.

Brock, as pervading all classes of Canadians, sought
to gratify his own malicious and vindictive spirit, and
at the same time to wound and insult the people of
Upper Canada, by attempting to destroy this monu-
ment. This was done by the introduction into it
of a considerable quantity of powder, which was fired
by a train ; and the explosion, though it did not
overthrow the column, shattered it so extensively
from top to bottom, as to render it unsafe to let it
remain in its present condition. The object of the
meeting on Queenstown Heights was, therefore, to call
forth the expression of public opinion in execration
of the deed, and to resolve upon the best mode of
replacing the shattered monument by another.

The notice of the meeting having been widely
circulated, and its object univei*sally approved, the
gathering was immense : from eight to ten thousand
persons, according to the estimate of some, and from
six to eight thousand, according to the estimate
of others, being assembled on the ground. Steam
vessels, engaged for the purpose, left their respective
ports of Kingston and Coburg, of Hamilton and
Toronto, in time to arrive at the entrance of the
Niagara river about 10 o’clock in the forenoon.
The whole of these, ten in number, then formed in
line, and ascended the river abreast, with the govern-
ment steamer, containing the Lieutenant-Governor
ot Upper Canada, Sir George Arthur, and his Staflp,
leading the way. The British shore was lined with
thousands, and the fleet of steamers filled with hun-
dreds, each shouting and responding to the cheers of

to ship

‘loam. Ihe landing being effected, the march to the

TORONTO.

ground was accompanied by military guards, and a
fine military band. The public meeting was then
held in the open air, near the foot of the monument
on Queenstown Heights. Sir George Arthur was in
the chair. The resolutions were moved and speeches
made by some of the most eminent and most eloquent
men, holding high official stations in the Province ;
and considering that amidst this grand and imposing
assemblage, there were a great number of veteran
officers of the Canada militia, who had fought and
bled with the lamented chief, whose memory they
were assembled to honour, and whose monument they
had come to re-establish over his remains, the enthu-
siasm with which the whole mass was animated, may
readily be conceived ; while the grand and picturesque
combination of natural objects of scenery, beheld from
the Heights on which they were met, and the bright-
ness of the day (the 30th of July,) added greatly to
the effect of the whole.

After the public proceedings had closed, every
resolution being unanimously carried by acclamation,
an Address of Congratulation to the Queen, for her
happy escape from the hand of an assassin, was pro-
posed and carried with equally hearty unanimity ;
the loyalty of the Canadians being as fervent as Ian.
guage can express. The business of the day was
closed by a public dinner under a pavilion erected
for the accommodation of a thousand persons, Chief
Justice Robinson presiding; and at this, as at the
morning meeting, great eloquence was displayed in
the speeches, great loyalty evinced in the feelings,
and great enthusiasm prevailed among all ranks and
classes of the people.

CANADA.

From some of the more unguarded of the speakers,
occasional expressions of vindictiveness towards the
Americans escaped ; but these were exceptions to the
general rule, and in this instance they were certainly
out of place ; first, because the Americans, who must
have witnessed the whole proceedings from their
own side of the river, ofifered no display of even a
wish to prevent the fullest honour being done to a
G^eneral who had often been successful against them
on the field ; and next, because the Americans had
no share whatever in the act of attempting to destroy
the monument of Brock — the wretch who did the
deed being by birth an Irishman, and by settlement
a Canadian. Upon the whole, however, the meeting
presented a proud display of high and noble feelings,
honourable to the memory of the dead, and equally
so to the character of the living. It was conducted
with great dignity and judgment, and no accident
occurred to interrupt the pleasures of the day ; the
steam- vessels re-embarking their passengers soon after
sunset, and conveying back the individuals composing
this congregated multitude to their respective homes
in safety.

Among the other meetings occurring here durino-
our stay, was one on the 1st of August, held by the
coloured inhabitants of Toronto, to celebrate the
Anniversary of the emancipation of their brother
Africans in the West Indies. They went in proces-
sion in the forenoon to the Episcopal church, where
an appropriate sermon was addressed to them by the
ev. Mn Grassett ; they dined together in the after-
noon, when they expressed their gratification at the
emancipation of their coloured brethren in the BritM

TORONTO.

colonies in suitable speeches ; and the whole was as
well conducted as the greatest lover of order and
decorum could have desired.

There was a regatta on the morning of the same
day, in which several sailing and rowing boats were
engaged. The bay of Toronto is admirably adapted
for such aquatic exhibitions ^ but the taste oi fond-
ness for such sports does not appear to oe sufficiently
general to furnish the requisite number of boats and
competitors to make a very gay or extensive regatta
here, as yet at least ; though it was evidently much
enjoyed by those who joined in it.

CHAP. IV,

Facts connected with the recent Rebellion in Upper Canada- Visit
trom an Indian Missionary— Kah-ke-wa-quon-a-bee— Indian

Settlement at “The river where credit is given”— State and
condition of the Canadian Indians generally — Difficulty of
converting the pagan tribes of India— Remarkable speech and

fo\T. ” r to remove the Indians
Pn!-V I y Island— Indian preference of French and

of nI, V of Upper Canada, equal to that

nimaf! ^e'^ent decline in the price of land—

Magistrates-Causes of this,
the leward of political partisans— News of the Union of the
Canadas— Parting visits to friends.

We heard much, of course, of the late rebellion in
Upper Canada, of which Toronto was the chief seat ;
and we were taken out to Gallows-hill, and the ruins
ot Montgomery’s Tavern, the principal rendezvous,
which, by order of the Governor, Sir Trancis Head,
had been burnt to the ground. From all that I could
earn, and I mixed freely with both parties, my con-
viction was, first, that there had not been a sufficient
amount of grievance or oppression to warrant the
taking up arms against the Government at all;
and next, that the persons who did so were few in

Si™ ; ‘ ” of ‘hem

I rancis Head, m turning a deaf ear to all the
lamed bj his warmest partisans here ; as the entirely

TORONTO.

unprepared state in which he kept the town, was such
as almost to tempt the rebels to attack it. Indeed
nothing but the gross mismanagement and cowardice
of their leaders could have saved the city from being
sacked and destroyed, as it might have been with any
tolerable management. In this case, 7,000 stand of
arms, and a large quantity of ammunition, with
300,000 dollars in specie, would have fallen into the
hands of the captors, and their success would no
doubt have drawn around them some addition to their
forces from the idle and profligate, as well as the
injured and dissatisfied of the province ; while much
greater numbers of reckless adventurers from the
opposite shores of the States of New York, Ohio, and
Michigan, would have poured in in such numbers, as
to make their dislodgment difficult, if not impossible,
except at the cost of more blood and treasure than it
took to make the original conquest of the whole
country. For running this risk. Sir Francis Head
may well be blamed. But on the other hand it
cannot be denied that the gathering storm having
then expended all its fury, the political atmosphere
has since been perfectly tranquil; the disaffected have
fled, or are silent ; and everywhere the most exube-
rant loyalty and professions of attachment to the
British crown and British rule are seen. All ideas of
independence, or of separation from British connec-
tion, are repudiated ; and as to annexation to the
United States, my own conviction is, that nothing
could be more obnoxious to the great mass of the
Upper Canadians than this ; they would, I think,
spurn the proposition with disdain, and the whole
Province, to a man, would seem to he ready to take

CANADA.

up arms against any power, friendly or hostile, that
should endeavour either to persuade or coerce them
into such an alliance.

Dating our stay at Toronto, I received a visit
from the celebrated Indian Kah-ke-wa-quon-a-bee,
or “ the rapidly flying feather,” who had embraced
Uiristianity, and become himself a missionary to the
Indian tribes, under the name of Peter Jones. He
was dressed in the European costume, as a Methodist
minister, and spoke English perfectly well. He had
visited England some years since, and there married
an nghsh lady, whom we also saw, and recognized
in her a former acquaintance in London. She had
returned home once since her marriage, in com-
pany with her husband, but had come back again to
Canada with him, and professed herself to be per-
fectly happy m her present position. She had with
“w"" the tribe had named

“Round World.”

I he body of Indians over whom Mr. Jones presides are
a poi tion of the great tribe of the Chippewas settled
on the banks of .he river Credit, seve'n'teri.'So
the weslrrard of I'oronto. and numbering about 250
souls. The^ are all Christians, and the dX"
portion of them are said to be truly devout. They
have portions of the Scriptures and hymns in Z

acceptable to them in their native language. The

mmseltso pleased with them, that he sent up to the

be smred fr “^ny of the Indians as could

om eir labours to come down and attend

TOnONTO.

with him the lectures on Palestine ; this being the
first occasion at which any Indians had ever been
assembled for such a purpose in Canada.

To our inquiries respecting the progress of Chris-
tianity among the Indians, and the influence of the
new faith on their lives and actions, he replied,
that the work of conversion from the pagan super-
stitions of the adults w’as very difficult, and its pro-
gress accordingly extremely slow ; and that their
chief hope lay in the education of the children. The
Credit settlement was supported entirely by agricul-
ture, at which all the Indians laboured with industry ;
though in the winter they indulged themselves with
the pleasures of the chase, and supplied themselves
with venison from the deer of the woods, for the
remainder of the year. The men adopt the Euro-
pean dress, but the women retain the Indian robe oi
blanket. The stream along the banks of which they
live, is called by the Chippewa name of “Muhze-
nuhega-zeebe,” which means “ The river where
credit is given,” commemorating this feature of its
history : in the early days of the province, when the
only white men that ever visited it were the fur
traders, this was the place of their meeting with the
red men ; and as articles were sometimes supplied to
them above the value of the furs they had in hand,
and payment for these was deferred till their meeting
in the same place in the following year, the stream
was called by the name mentioned, which it is always
likely to retain.

Among the pagan Indians that inhabit the north-
ern and western borders of Upper Canada, Peter
Jones had sometimes gone for the purpose of per-

CANADA.

suading them to embrace Christianity, but hitherto
he had met with no success ; nor did he think it
likely that any of the men who had passed the
middle period of life would ever be prevailed upon
to change their religion. On the last occasion of
his preaching to such a tribe, he was listened to with
silence and respect — this being an attention which
Indians always pay to any discourse, however oppo-
site to their own views those of the speaker may be
— a courtesy well worthy the imitation of their more
civilized white brethren in Europe, At the close
of the sermon, however, one of the chiefs rose, and
addressed the missionary to the following effect.
He said that he had no doubt the religion of Christ
was a good religion, but it was made for the white
man — though he did not seem to regulate his conduct
very much by its precepts. But, he added, God has
made another religion for the red man, which is
much better for him to follow. In proof of this, he
related the fact of one of the Indians of another
tribe, who had embraced Christianity, dying, and
remaining dead for three days. When they were
about to bury him, however, he recovered, and awoke
again to life ; after which he related that during the
last three days he had been in the heaven of the
Christians, where he was very happy ; but God at
length observing him among the white men, asked him
how he came there ? to which he replied, that having
embraced Christianity, and died in that faith, he
came naturally to the Christian’s heaven. God then
told him he was entirely mistaken, as the Christian
religion and the Christian heaven were for white
men only. He hade him, therefore, instantly to

TORONTO

leave the place — go back to earth again — and follow
the religion of his fathers ; when, at his death, he
would be admitted into the heaven of the red men,
and there enjoy with them the pleasures of the
hunting-ground and the wigwam, with plenty of
game. The Indian accordingly renounced the new
religion, and went back to the old, lived a long while
afterwards, and died happily in a good old age.
“After this,” said the chief, “I cannot think of
leaving the religion of the red man for the religion
of the white ; for, like the Indian whose history
I have recounted to you, I might be turned out of
the white man’s heaven by the Almighty, as having
no right to be there ; and the opportunity might not
be afforded me of returning again to tbe earth, to
win the red man’s heaven by a return to my own
proper religion, and tbus I might risk the loss of
both.” This speech, said Mr. Jones, made such an
impression on the pagan hearers, of the tribe, that
it was in vain to address them further on the
subject.

The Indians in Upper Canada are not numerous,
their whole number not exceeding 8,000. Many
portions of them are civilized sufficiently to have
forsaken the hunter-state, and embraced the agri-
cultural. A number of these appear to conform
cheerfully to the change, and to be good subjects
and good Christians ; but some among tbe number
continue indolent, dissolute, and drunken. Sir
Francis Head, during bis recent government here,
conceived the plan of transferring all the Indian
tribes now on the continent of Upper Canada, to
the great Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, for the

CANADA.

purpose of keeping them from all communication with
the whites, and thus saving them from degradation.
But the Indians themselves are averse to this separa-
tion. They do not like to quit their present lands,
and they evince the same attachment to their ancient
camping places as the Indians of the United States.
It is, therefore, not probable that they will all con-
sent to remove there, though they have no objection
to join the annual assemblage of their red brethren
at this island, when the presents of the British
government, in blankets, knives, fish-hooks, cotton
cloths, and other articles, are distributed among
them.

The Indians generally are said to have a greater
respect for the English than for the Americans ;
first, from their being the nation originally settling
on their continent, and therefore of more ancient
standing ; and next, because they have been treated
by the English with more justice, good faith, and
generosity, than by the Americans. But they prefer
the French to both ; the French, in Canada at least,
being to them the most ancient of the whites, and
having not only treated them with fairness, but with
kindness, mingling with them in their social parties,
and flattering them by a more ready conformity to
their manners than either of the other nations have
ever done. It is said, that several of the American
Indians are coming over from Michigan to settle in
Upper Canada ; and the Oneidas of the State of
New York, have signified their intention to do the
same. A portion of the Six Nations, to which the
Oneidas belong, are already settled on the banks
of the Grand River, to the westward of this ; the

TORONTO. 4Q

Mohawks being the principal tribe among them ;
and the Chippewas are so scattered, that when, dur*
ing the last year, a general meeting of the chiefs of
the tribe were assembled on the Grand River, to
meet the chiefs of the Mohawks in friendly council,
to bury the tomahawk, and smoke the calumet or
pipe of peace, in token of their renewal of the
ancient treaties of peace existing between their
separate nations, their scattered bands were gathered
in from seventeen different stations.

From the testimony of all parties who have had
an opportunity of comparing the land on the opposite
sides of the lakes, the soil of Upper Canada is in
no respect whatever inferior to that of the States of
New York or Ohio, and the finest parts of the
Frovince are those lying west of this. M^any por-
tions of the country are agreeably undulated, though
there are no mountains; while the abundance °of
water in the lakes, rivers, and springs, with which
the country is supplied, is highly favourable to its
fertility. Wheat is everywhere produced in great
quantities, and of excellent quality, and the harvest
of the present year is said to be unusually abundant.
The markets of Toronto bear evidence of the excel-
lence and cheapness of everything required for the
table ; the fish of the lake is of the finest kind, par-
ticularly the white fish and salmon ; the beef, mutton,
and lamb are quite equal to those of the best pro-
vincial markets in England ; and everything in the
way of provisions is cheap and good. The value
of land, however, instead of having progressively
increased with time, as in the United States, has of
late greatly declined ; and we met with gentlemen

CANADA.

who were large holders of land, which they had
purchased from 15 to 20 years ago at 10s. an acre,
for which they could not now get 2s. 6d. There
has never been, indeed, a period in the history of
the Province, in which farms could be purchased
by settlers at so cheap a rate as now ; and yet
some of the emigrants who had left England with
the intention to settle in Canada, and who had
come up from Quebec at the government expense,
preferred going over into the United States, and
settling themselves there.

The climate, during our stay at Toronto, w^as
more variable than we had found it in any part of
America, there being scarcely any two days in suc-
cession that were alike. Though the days were often
close and sultry, there was several times a sharp
frost at night. The rain, too, was very considerable,
and the alternation of violent thunder-storms on one
day, and chilling mists and vapours on the other,
was far from being acceptable. All agreed, however,
that this was a very unusual kind of August, this
month being generally hot, dry, and steady. The
summer is very short, for autumn commences early
in August, and the leaves were beginning to change
colour from decay as early as the 8th of that month.
From the suddenness of the, transition from wdnter
to summer, the spring is the least agreeable portion
of the year. Some think the autumn the pleasantest
time, and speak in raptures of the months of Sep-
tember and October, as well as of the hazy Indian
summer which follows in November; but the greater
portion of the inhabitants seem to prefer the winter,
which, though long, and extremely cold, is to many.

TORONTO.

both healthy and agreeable, from the dryness of the
atmosphere, the steadiness of the temperature, and
the exhilarating exercise of skating and sleighing.

From the opportunities I had of judging, by what
passed under my own observation, I should be dis-
posed to think that the people of Upper Canada
were much less temperate than the people of the
United States. Absolute drunkenness is happily in
both countries now become rare ; and where it exists
at all, it is amongst the lowest of the people. But
even among these it abounds to a greater extent in
Toronto than in any town of the same size in
America ; and we saw more drunken persons, and
heard more profane and blasphemous oaths and im-
precations, in our short stay here, than a traveller
would meet with in a year in the States, unless he
went pui-posely in search of it, which we certainly
did not in either country. At the table of our hotel,
almost every one drank wine, beer, or brandy- and-
water. At the public tables in America it is now
rare to see anything drank but w'ater. In private
circles, wine is more freely used in Canada, and
more urgently pressed on those who do not use it,
than is the case in the United States ; and with the
heads of office, political, military, civil, judicial, and
even ecclesiastical, the Temperance cause is not at
all in favour, since none of all these powerful and
influential classes come forward publicly to give this
cause the benefit of their sanction and example.

1 he most melancholy picture, however, of the inte-
rior of the Province, in this respect, is presented by
a writer in the Canada Temperance Advocate, a
w'ork wholly unconnected with party politics, under

E 2

CANADA.

the date of July 25th, only a few weeks from the
period of my writing this, August 12th, and signed
by his own proper name, as a guarantee for its
accuracy. As an essential part of the evidence on
which a correct judgment may be formed on this
question, it is desirable that the statements of this
writer should be extensively published, that the
evil may become so notorious as to demand imme-
diate attention. The letter is headed ‘‘ Upper
Canada,’’ and is signed ‘‘ John Dougal,” and these
are the melancholy facts it communicates —

In my last* letter respecting Upper Canada, I promised to
make some general remarks in reference to a portion of the
magistracy of that Province. Owing to various causes, the matter
has been deferred ; but I still feel called upon to take up the
subject, from the conviction, that before the people of that beau-
tiful Province can be, generally speaking, a sober, a moral, and a
religious people, there must be a great change in its magistracy.
I therefore earnestly solicit the attention of the Governor-Gene-
ral, and Lieutenant-Governor, to the following statements.

‘‘ Whilst many of the magistrates of Upper Canada are sober,
moral, excellent men, who perform the duties of their important
station in the most praiseworthy manner, many of them are of a
very different character. This is showed by the fact, that licenses
for the sale of liquor are issued with most unbounded liberality
to persons even who possess none of the accommodations required
by law. The issuing of these licenses is managed so that, if
applications be refused at the Quarter Sessions, they are sure to
be granted by some two of the magistrates afterwards ; or if the
applicant’s character be very bad indeed, so that a tavern license
is refused, he is still almost certain to get a license to keep a
beer-shop, from some friend and patron amongst the magistracy,
and I need not add, that beer-shops are almost invariably drunk-
eries of the worst character.

W ithout mentioning all the facts respecting magistrates in
Upper Canada which came to my knowledge, I will mention a

TORONTO.

few wliich were communicated to me, upon such authority as I
could not for a moment doubt.

In one village of Upper Canada, two of the magistrates were
in the habit of breaking the law, by playing at cards and drinking
with the tavern-keeper and his customers, often for the greater
part or whole of the night. Of course, they could not refuse a
license to their pot-companion.

In another village a majority of the magistrates are noto-
riously intemperate.

“ In a back township, a magistrate, who kept a tavern, sold
liquor to people till they got drunk and fought in his house. He
then issued a warrant, apprehended them, and tried them on the
spot ; and besides fining them, made them treat each otlier to
make up the quarrel.

“In a district town of Upper Canada, one of the. leading
magistrates is an extensive dealer in liquors, and all tavern-keepers
who will take their supplies from him can get licenses without
difficulty. Should any presume, however, to buy from other mer-
chants, their licenses are refused.

In a town of Upper Canada, several of the magistrates are
intemperate, and some of them are on the limits for debt.

‘‘I might multiply instances of intemperance amongst this
important class of the community ; but it is a painful subject, and
I shaU conclude by stating, that throughout Upper Canada a
large proportion, if not a majority, of the magistrates are distillers
or sellers of intoxicating drinks ; and therefore, it may be pre-
sumed, directly interested in the increase of their traffic and the
multiplication of grog-shops. The effect of this state of things
on the morals of the people must be, and indeed evidently is,
disastrous ; and I again beg leave to call the attention, not only
of the people at large, but of those in authority, to it, and to add,
that much that is stated above applies with equal force to Lower
Canada.”

This is indeed a melancholy picture ; and from
the best information I could obtain, by occasional
conversations with persons resident in the interior,

I had too much reason to believe that it was as

CANADA.

faithful as it was melancholy. The only explanation
given of this state of things, is, that the successive
Governments have made the most active of their
partisans. Justices of the Peace, with little reference
to any other consideration ; and hence a number of
persons, the most unfit for the office, have been
thrust into this important station. It is high time,
indeed, that this state of things should be amended.

It was on the last day of our stay at Toronto,
that the news reached there, of the Bill for the
Union of the two Provinces of Canada, having
passed both Houses of Parliament, and received the
royal assent. The views taken of this measure
vary, of course, according to the political bias of
different parties and classes ; but I shall pass them
over for the present, as it is my intention, after
seeing both the Provinces, and mingling with the
society of each, to devote a separate and supple-
mentary chapter, to a general view of the whole
subject, connected with their past, present, and pro-
bable future condition, under the changes proposed
in the Union Bill, as far as these can be clearly and
safely predicted.

Our last day was passed in a round of farewell
visits to the many families from whom we had
received such cordial and hospitable attentions
during our short stay here, as to make us leave it
with greater regret than we had felt at quitting any
place for a long time.

CHAP, V

Departure from Toronto — English steamboats — Passage along
the coast — Character of the country— Touch at Port Hope?
and at Coburg — Arrival at Kingston, and stay there — History
of the rise and progress of that town— Beautiful and advan-
tageous situation of Kingston— Visit to the Fort on the opposite
Peninsula — Description of its interior and subterranean pas-
sage — Plan of the town — Materials and style of building —
Public Edifices Court House— Churches — Country around
Kingston — Bay of Quinte.

On Friday, the 14th of August, we left Toronto,
and were accompanied to the steam-boat, the Wil-
liam the Fourth, by sereral of our friends. The
day was beautifully fine, and the breeze bland and
favourable for our voyage. We left the wharf at
9 A. M., took a last look at Toronto as we steered
down the bay, rounded the Light-House at Gibraltar
Point, and passed the new Fort constructing to
guard the entrance of the harbour ; when we bore
up our course down Lake Ontario, for Port Hope,
Coburg, and Kingston, to which we were bound.

Our boat, though one of the largest of the British
steamers on the Lake, was neither so light, airy, or
commodious, as most of the American steamers.
Instead of state-rooms, into which the passengers can
retire, and dress and undress in privacy, as in all
the American boats on Lakes Michigan, Huron,
and Erie, there are in the English boats only open
sleeping berths. Owing to this arrangement, the
gentlemen are entirely excluded from the ladies’

CANADA.

cabin ; and the ladies dare hardly venture, except at
the period of meals, into the gentlemen’s ; so that
the parties can only be together on deck, whatever
may be the state of the weather. The English
steamers are all painted black, with a white, or red,
or yellow narrow stripe along the sides, which gives
them a dark and heavy appearance. The American
steamers have always white bottoms, and light and
tastefully painted upper works ; and on the whole they
appear to be better furnished, and kept in cleaner
and nicer order, than the English ones. The latter,
however, have the superiority in the table, which is
much better provided, and everything better cooked;
while time is allowed to enjoy as well as to eat the
meal, and the attendants go through their duties
without the hurry and bustle of an American break-
fast or dinner. In safety, it is certain that the Bri-
tish vessels have also the superiority, partly from the
greater strength of all the machinery and workman-
ship, but still more from the greater degree of vigi-
lance and cai’e with which every department of duty
is superintended, and the greater subordination and
more implicit obedience, of the crew ; but in speed,
the American boats generally excel the English.

Our passage down Lake Ontario was extremely
agreeable. W e coasted along the northern shore

at a distance of from three to five miles from the
land ; and the appearance of this, though not suffi-
ciently broken and mountainous to be picturesque,
was nevertheless often beautiful and always pleasing.
Ridges of progressively increasing elevation appeared
to rise behind and above each other on receding
northward from the coast, so that the country mus^

LAKE ONTARIO.

be agreeably undulated in the interior. Wood is
everywhere abundant ; and on the interior hills the
primitive forest appears never to have been disturbed ;
but on the sloping land nearer the shore, the cleared
patches and tilled fields are frequent, many of them
beautifully green, as if laid out in grass, others of
a bright yellow, with waving fields of wheat ready
for the harvest ; while, scattered over the surface, and
peeping through the woods, many substantial and
comfortable farm-houses and country residences
diversify and enliven the scene.

At 4 o’clock, p. M., we touched at Port Hope, a
promising little town on the Lake, with about 200
houses, two churches with spires, and a fine open
tract of cleared land behind the settlement, which is
said to be a thriving one. We remained here but a
few minutes at the wharf, and then stood on for
Coburg, a distance of seven miles below it, where
we reached before 5 o’clock. The boat stopping
here half an hour, we landed and walked up from the
pier to the town. It is laid out with great symmetry,
has firte broad streets, substantial houses of stone,
brick, and wood; and all the external symptoms of ad-
vancing prosperity. It contains a population of from
3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants ; and has a fine agricultu-
ral country behind it, reaching for thirty miles north
to the river Trent, and the Bay of Quinte. This tract
is said to be quite equal to any part of England for
beauty and fertility ; requiring only population and
capital to make it as rich in all other respects. In
the immediate vicinity of the town, is a large and
handsome edifice built of stone, erected by the Wes-
leyan Methodists as an academy and college for the

CANADA.

education of youths belonging to their body. It
has the reputation of being well conducted and well
sustained by their voluntary contributions ; and has
at present upwards of a hundred students within its
walls.

On leaving Coburg, we continued our course
down Lake Ontario, leaving behind us the isolated
lighthouse built on a sunken rock, at the entrance of
the bay, resembling the Eddystone in miniature.
After witnessing a glowing and exquisitely beautiful
sunset, the night soon closed in, and the rest of our
way presented nothing of interest till we reached
Kingston, which we did at 3, a. m., having gone the
whole distance of 180 miles in 18 hours, including
stoppages ; our actual rate, therefore, exceeding 10
miles an hour ; and the fare for the whole distance
being six dollars each. After sunrise we landed
and repaired to the British-North-American Hotel,
where we found good apartments, and took up our
abode.

The town of Kingston is older than Toronto,
dating back to about the year I 672 , when Mbns. de
Courcelles, the French governor of Canada, (the
whole country then belonging to France,) built here
a fort at the outlet of Lake Ontario into the river
St. Lawrence, where Kingston now stands, partly as
a barrier against the Iroquois Indians, who occupied
the opposite side of the lake and river, and partly
as a protection to the fur-traders who resorted here.
The fort was enlarged and strengthened at a subse-
quent period by his successor, the Count Frontenac,
and his name was accordingly bestowed on the posi-
tion. A small town gradually arose around this

KINGSTON. 5Q

spot, and at the surrender of Canada to the British
arms, in 1759, it fell into the hands of the English,
after whieh it was called Kingston. There are
some few of the oldest inhabitants here, who re-
membei when tnere was but one stone building and
not more than twenty wooden ones in the place;
and even at the period of the last American war,
in 1813, it was a very small village. Since the
peace of 1816, it has progressively advanced till it
has reached the dignity of a city, governed by a
mayor and aldermen, and has a population of nearly
7,000 persons. The chief source of its wealth is
agriculture, and its principal commerce is in the
expoi’tation of agricultural produce, and the impor-
tation of manufactures and other goods for domestic
consumption. Large quantities of grain from the
United States are accumulated at Kingston, and
when ground into flour it is exported as Canadian
produce, in British vessels, by which it obtains
admission into England, at a low duty, though the
same articles going direct from the ports of the
Union, would pay a much higher rate.

The situation of Kingston unites strength, beauty,
and convenience, in an unusual degree. In all these
respects, it is superior to Toronto. The town lies
along the northern shore of the Lake Ontario, just
where the western extremity of that lake narrows
into the strait or channel of the river St. Lawrence ;
having a large island opposite to it, within the
British lines ; the main channel of the river lying
beyond and between this island, and the Ame-
rican shore in the State of New York. The town
stands on an ascending slope from the water’s edge,

CANADA.

which gives it a more elevated appearance than
Toronto ; and just in front of it, is a peninsula pro-
jecting out between two bays, which is still higher
than the town, and commands a beautiful and exten-
sive view from its summit. On the topmost ridge
of this elevated peninsula, stands the fort of Kings-
ton, which commands the passage by the river and
lake, overlooks the whole town, and could bring its
guns to bear upon almost every part of the sur-
rounding country. Between the fort and the town,
is a smaller peninsula, on which is the Naval Yard,
at which, during the last war with America, a ship
of 120 guns was built for the lake service, but was
never used, and has since been taken to pieces.*

We visited the Fort in company with the com-
manding officer, Major Deedes of Her Majesty’s
34th, and were struck with its admirable position,
and great strength, the masonry being of the most
solid and massive kind, executed in the fine blue
limestone of the peninsula on which it stands, the
ditches broad and deep, the walls thick, and the
1 amparts and batteries elevated, strong, and spacious.
The quarters for officers and men are roomy and
substantial ; and every provision seems to have been
made for their comfort. Extensive tanks or reser-
voirs of water are kept within the fort always filled,
in case of a siege ; a large supply of provisions is
also constantly on hand. The number of men at
present in the garrison is about 250, including a
detachment of provincial artillery, the number of
guns mounted about 50,—and a magazine, with
ammunition of all kinds, a large supply of small
* See plate II

KINGSTON.

arms, and several bombs and mortars, with shot and
shells, are always kept ready for use. In going the
rounds of the Fort, we were taken down to a sub-
terraneous vaulted passage or covered way, intended
for a retreat in case of need, and leading to vaulted
chambers, with port-holes for cannon, and openings
for musketry, commanding the ditches, so that if an
enemy penetrated thus far, they could be ** mowed
down like grass,” as our guide' expressed himself.
It was through this subterranean passage that two
of the Canadian insurgents, who were confined in
this Fort, made their escape, and succeeded in getting
across to the United States. The very strength of
the place in which they were confined, led°to a
relaxation of vigilance on the part of the sentries,
and they had opportunities of making their prepara-
tions unobserved for some days before, having been
informed by one of the masons who had worked in
this subterranean passage, of all the particulars
respecting it. It was remarked to us that the same
relaxation of vigilance, arising from undue reliance
on the strength of the place of confinement, had led
to the escape of two other Canadian prisoners from
the castle of Quebec ; while at Amherstburgh and
some other British garrison forts, w’here the rebel
prisoners were confined only in an ordinary guard-
house, they were so well looked after, because of the
insecurity of their prison, that not one of all the
number effected an escape.

The town of Kingston is laid out with sufiicient
regularity ; but it has no street to compare with
King Street, in Toronto ; and few of those delightful

CANADA.

little villas and garden dwellings, which abound in
the neighbourhood of the latter, and make its envi-
rons so agreeable. The town is about a mile and
half in length, three-quarters of a mile in breadth,
and contains a population of from 7>000 to 8,000
persons. The whole town lies on a bed of blue
limestone rock, so near the surface, that in digging
the necessary depth for the foundations of a house,
there is usually enough stone obtained by the exca-
vation to build the edifice with. Stone-houses are,
therefore, more numerous than any other ; very few
being built with brick, and only the smaller houses
of wood. The dark blue tint of the stone gives the
town a heavy and peculiar appearance ; but at the
same time it leaves an impression of substantiality and
durability. Shrubs and flowers are cultivated in
the gardens appended to many of the better order
of dwellings, which gives them a gay and cheerful
appearance.

Among the public buildings, the Court House is
the most prominent. It stands near the centre of
the town, opposite to the principal hotel, and within
a few yards of the English church. The Court
House has a front of about 100 feet, a depth of 200
feet, and is about 60 feet in height. The front has
a pediment, above and behind which rises an octa-
gonal tower, with lantern and cupola, to a height of
from 60 to 70 feet above the roof, making the whole
elevation, with the terminating spire, about 150 feet,
ihe interior is spacious and well arranged ; and on
the upper floor is one of the best fitted Court-rooms
in the province. The Town Jail is in the rear of

KINGSTON'.

this Co»rt House, ; but there is a large Penitentiary,
conJucted on the Silent System, or Auburn plan
remote from this, beyond the town.

or Kingston— one English,

or Established Church, the largest and best; one
Kirk of Scotland ; one Roman Catholic; one Pres
byterian; one Methodist; and one Baptist. We
attended the service of the Established Church
during our stay here, and found a small congrega-
tion, not more than two hundred. At Toronto there
were more than a thousand ; but we hardly won-
dered at the paucity of numbers here, as we had to
undergo the penance of hearing the beautiful com-
position of the Liturgy drawled out by one of the
very worst readers I ever remember to have heard
vvith one exception only, and that was a reader in
the Minster of Beverley, in Yorkshire. They miaht
be matched, I think, against the world, for the
absence of every requisite qualification for their
duty as readers, though both might perhaps have
been good and pious men; hut it is a sad and unpar-
donable misappropriation of time and money, and
highly detrimental to the efficiency of the public ser-
vice, and the interests of religion, to permit persons
so utterly incompetent to occupy the places which
might be so much more advantageously filled by
their superiors. ^

The country around Kingston is not so fertile as
It IS in the neighbourhood of Toronto; the garden-
land of Upper Canada lying between the Lakes
Ontario, Erie, and Huron ; but there are still some
hue spots for cultivation even here. The price of
land is rather higher than farther west; though

CANADA.

inferior in quality and productiveness ; the price
ranging from 20s. to 30s. per acre ; while in the
western districts much better tracts may be had for
from 15s. to 20s. per acre, and large tracts of wooded
land at 10s.

There is a beautifully winding and picturesque
sheet of water called the Bay of Quinte, which forms
an inlet from the general course of Lake Ontario,
and up which excursions are often made from King-
ston, as steamboats go daily up to Bath, 40 miles,
and Belleville, 80 miles, and return again on the
following day. We were prevented from taking
this excursion by other engagements ; but heard the
scenery so much spoken of, that our inability to
enjoy it was matter of regret to us.

CHAP, VI.

n Penitentiary— Chaplain’s and Inspec-

tors Reports -Difficulty of providing for prisoners Xen

principal cause of^ crime— DeL-
tive education— Religion of the convicts-Registry of fecL
connected with the prisoners-Cost of the Penitfntiary-Sda!
ries— Expenses— Proceeds of labour— Objections of honest

th^cTnll'Zp'®'* Canal— Fine works— Line of

e canal Process, cost, and value— Great fire at Kingston—
Rebuilding of the town— Newspapers— Mechanics’ InsUtute—
Temperance Society-Old Indian Regiments met vvith at
Kingston and Toronto— General state of society here— Sultrv
weather— Visit of the Governor-General of Canada on his
tour— Reception at Kingston— Causes for its coldness

During our stay at Kingston, we visited the Peni-
tentiary, and were shown over the building by one
ot the deputy-wardens, who answered all our inqui-
ries readily. The edifice occupies a beautiful situa-
tion near the edge of the Lake, at a distance of
about two miles from the town in a westerly direc-
tion ; the road to it being one of the best in the
country, diversified by many agreeable dwellings on
each side, and having the General Hospital about
midway between the town and the Penitentiary
The building for the latter is intended to form a
cross, with four wings proceeding from a common
centre ; the front wing being for the offices and
dwelling of the warden and his deputies ; and the
other three for the cells, workshops, kitchen, eating-

CANADA.

rooms, chapel, and other apartments for the prisoners.
Two of these wings are completed, and the other two
are in progress. The work is paid for by grants of
the Provincial Legislature of Upper Canada ; and
their funds being limited, they have not proceeded
with the rapidity that could be desired. It is about
nine years since the building was first commenced,
and five since it was opened to receive the con-
victs ; but it will take another five years probably
before the whole work will be complete. The
blue limestone of which it is built, is procured from
the rocky bed on which the edifice stands ; and the
quarries all around it afford an inexhaustible supply,
not only for their own building, but for as many
public edifices as the town may require.

The system of discipline pursued here, is that
which is known as the Silent System, or Auburn
plan, where the prisoners work in companies, but
under the superintendence of inspectors, to prevent
their communicating with each other, either by
sounds or signs, as far as it is found practicable to
enforce it. The construction of the cells, in five
separate stories rising above each other, and each
entered from a balcony or veranda running along
their whole front, is after the plan of Auburn and
other similar Penitentiaries in the United States ;
the cells are narrower, but they are lighter, and
better ventilated, than many that we remember.
The convicts have a prison dress, made of coarse
cotton cloth, white on one side, and brown on the
other, for summer ; and a dress of coarse woollen cloth,
brown on tbe one side, and vellow on the other, for
winter; each garment being stamped with the letters

KINGSTON.

*» ‘1«

} uld not fail to be recognized so long- as thesp
garments were worn by them, after an escape tZ

meirZ ^d. having a pound tf

nipal f ^ ^ preparation of Indian

nieal for supper. Their hours of labour do not

aays and it is never excessive in its nature. The

vario2Tur'Sl*'’‘'T T’a

vai ous, but all are healthy. There is a lar<m and
well-ventilated hospital for the sick, and everv“atten
tion IS paid to their cleanliness and recovery. Lcept

iste f "condition of these convicts

IS better than that of many of the poorer mechanics

nd labourers at home, as they have always an abun
daauuppi, of food and clothing, good IXr a„d
medical attendance when ill ; but so lieavv is the
burden of forced silence, and forced confiLment

to tooJifoff“" >11 “to anxious

According to the last Report presented to the
Legislature, there were 148 convicts in the Peniten

of'the "l «bout 30
of the males were black or coloured persons. Of

this number there were the following—

Bnrn

Born in the Canadas . . 45

— United States 39
— Ireland . . 33

Born in England
Scotland

Other countries .

^ v-.v,.* WUIIUltJS . y

Their j^es ranged from 10 to 72 ; the greatest
number being between the ages of 20 and 30^ The

F 2

CANADA.

convictions for larceny were 72 , for horse-stealing
20, for forgery 6, for burglary only 3, and for mur-
der only 1. Among the persons confined for horse-
stealing, was a young and handsome female, about
twenty years of age, whose history was remarkable.
She had taken part with the rebels in the late insur-
rection, and, habited as a boy, had been employed as
a messenger, to convey intelligence from one part of
the country to the other. Her journeys were made
on horseback, and the letters or despatches which
she bore were concealed beneath her saddle, so that
detection, or even suspicion.
When the rebellion was put down, and her services
were no longer required, the desire to possess a horse
for her own riding was so irresistible, that not hav-
ing the means to purchase one, she stole it, and being
detected, was tried, convicted, and sent to the Peni-
tentiary after which the fact of her connection with
^e rebels, as their messenger, became first known.

e females are under the charge of a matron, and
are treated with more kindness than the males: they
have their sleeping cabins divided only by a thin
partition of wood, so that they can and do converse
with each other in the night-time ; in the day they
ar^ employed in needle-work, for the Institution

The term of confinement varies from one to four-
teen years; the average term appears to be about
ree years. The former term is found by expe-

n the character of the convicts ; and is, therefore
1 ecommended to be lengthened, in all cases in which
they are sent to the Penitentiary at all. The fol_

KINGSTON.

!hrCb»“„7 *'p ’"“'■''r” “"Wned in

the Chaplain s Report for the past year 1839.

the sentence: it cannot in reason L expected that 7 fi *
of one year, can in the least weaken a^habit which
with the convict’s growth and «fr m I ^ ^ ‘grown
The p„.peot .f .

™. co„.„w/e.,

“Hrs

sioiis ; conscience still exercises her nffl s^^ous impres-

short sentence may produce the desirS^ffirt f “

speaking the reverse is the case • and ^

In the second place aTplit of
those who are recommitted; a desire t^rel" “T7
for the labour performed while in prison and f ‘hemselves

received no recLpense, impl L^att m" lo 77“^^
selves by plundering others Somc^ 1
ledged. that had they received any th^r aHir r
egmvalent, or had been assured that a moiety of Z7
would be paid them, after a stated period
would have had some inducement to continue 77h "
honesty; but having once incurred the suspicions of JJ; ,

Z'Z! r T “3~ C:

,».« ^ .h.

the struggles or rebukes of conscience thev then th ^ 7“'®

.ought *11

"h. Bhe tbrte, l„dl.po..d W opp... . .LpiollTOr-

with

Witli the Chaplain in his views, and urge some fur
ther reasonings in the following passages •

CANADA.

“ The Inspectors coincide with the Chaplain in his opinion of
short sentences, that they generally serve rather to harden and
irritate, than soften and subdue the criminal ; and with regard to
second convictions, whatever may have given rise to that ‘ spirit
of revenge,’ referred to in the Chaplain’s Report, as inducing
those unhappy persons of whom he speaks, to return to their
former evil courses, it affords a melancholy proof how little they
had profited by the salutary restraints to which they had been
subjected, and the moral lessons inculcated upon them during
their imprisonment.

“ With regard to the suggestion hinted at in the Chaplain’s
Report of appropriating < a moiety ’ of the convict’s earnings to
be paid to him ‘ after a stated period of probation,’ something of
the kind has often occurred to the Inspectors ; but the difficulties
which present themselves to their minds in carrying this plan into
effect, so as to promote the true and substantial benefit of the
convict, without prejudice to the public interest, appear so great,
that it is with diffidence they venture to bring the matter under
Your Excellency’s consideration.

“ On this subject, however, they would beg leave to observe,
that under the existing Penitentiary regulations, and in conformity
to the present law, the convict, when discharged, only receives a
few shillings to aid him in returning to his friends ; — to whom,
if they are honest and respectable, and if he entertains any sense
of the disgrace which his misconduct has brought upon them as
well as himself, he feels reluctant to return in that destitute con-
dition in which he is placed when enlarged, and sent out again
into the world ; and in this wavering and undecided state of
mind, while yet lingering in the vicinity of the prison, he proba-
bly meets with some of his former inmates ; it may be some of
those who had been associated with him in iniquity, and fellow-
prisoners in the same common jail before conviction. With them
he renews an acquaintance, and involved as they are in the same
common flite, they are led to look upon each other with a feeling
of mutual sympathy as the outcasts of society ; to form a sort of
community among themselves, and instead of following up their
original intention of returning to their friends to earn a subsist-
ence by honest industry, they are but too apt to engage in some

KINGSTON.

new criminal enterprise, by which, according to their system of
morals, they may remunerate themselves for their past loss of
time and labour.

“ Under the evil influence of temptation from these associations
all their virtuous resolutions vanish— they again put forth their
hands to steal ; are detected, convicted, and sentenced a second
time, for another series of years, to resume their former routine
of labour in silence, and to be placed once more under those
restoaints, they had already found so irksome and so opposite to
their licentious and vagrant habits of life.

While the Inspectors feel the necessity and importance of
some plan being adopted to place convicts on their discharge
from prison in a state of probation, they scarcely feel themselves
authorized to recommend any definite plan for effecting this
object, however desirable. With great deference they would
submit, that if one-third of the convict’s earnings could be paid
to him in annual instalments, on his producing to the treasurer
of the District m which he resides, satisfactory certificates of
good conduct, signed by any two magistrates of that District,
together with a certificate of some resident minister of religion ;
that he, the convict, had been a regular attendant on his minis-
try during the year, and that, to the best of his knowledge and
belief, his character among his neighbours for honesty, sobriety,
and industry, had been irreproachable, it might hold out such an
inducement to the discharged convict to commence a new and
honest course of life, and to persevere in his efforts of amend-
ment, as to be productive of the best effects. The Inspectors,
however, in offering this suggestion with all the objections that
may be raised to its practical operation, and they are not without
the apprehension that there may be many, again revert to their
already expressed opinion of the ineflficacy of short sentences to
produce reformation.”

This is undoubtedly an object of the highest con-
sideration, how to prevent the unhappy convict,
when released from confinement, from falling too
speedily into temptation again. And here, I must
observe, that the decided superiority of the Solitary

CANADA.

System of the Philadelphia prisons is at once appa-
rent, No one having ever seen the prisoner in his
confinement, except the otficers of the Penitentiary,
he cannot be recognized by any one as a previous
convict, nor can he recognize any virho, like himself,
had been an inmate of the Penitentiary, and is after-
wards released, so that one great cause of subsequent
CTil association and connection is thus swept away.
Coming out anew into the world in this condition,
and provided with the means of subsistence for a
short period, till they can obtain employment, the
chances of a new career of honest labour for the
convicts, are much greater than when coming, as
t ey do from the prisons on the Auburn system,
personally known by sight to each other; when
meeting, after their release, destitute of means, they
unite to drink, and interchange their sympathies and
congratulations, and the concoction of some new
project of crirno is f.ViA ncnol v •

.... i..„vxuiug immeaiate and profitable labour for
those who were discbarffPrl

ruinous propensity. The subjoined

KINGSTON.

# schedule will furnish a variety of particulars relating to the con-
vict, as collected by personal inquiry.”

This schedule shows that no less than 50 were
under the actual influence of liQuor when they com-
mitted the crime of which they were guilty, and 36
had intemperate parents, as well as being intem-
perate themselves. Of the whole number of 148
convicts, 30 could read only, 40 could read and

write, and 78 were
several religions were

unable to do either,
thus reported —

Their

Church of England .

. 24

Church of Scotland

. 7

Church of Rome . .

. 23

Baptists ....

. 4

Methodists . . . .

. 13

Presbyterians . . .

. 3

Showing just half the whole number, or 74, who
professed no religion ; and out of these, there are
15 who have come back to the prison on a second
conviction, Q, on a third, and 1 on a fourth convic-
tion, the last being a hoary-headed offender of the
age of 7 1 .

For breaches of the rules of discipline, such as
talking, or acts of insubordination, the punishment
is flogging, of two kinds ; for the lighter offences,
a few stripes with the cow-skin over the clothes ; for
more serious offences, flogging with the cat on the
bare back ; but the instances are rare in which either
are resorted to, and with females neither is used.

The chaplain visits the prison daily, to confer
with the prisoners; and on Sunday, he performs
public worship, which they all attend. This appears
to be a relief to them, as a change of occu-
pation and a holiday ; but as they are shut up in
their cells at all other times of the day, except when

caxada.

they are out at meals and in chapel, they usually
complain of Sunday as the most irksome day of all
the week, and would willingly work in preference if
they could be allowed.

A full and complete registry is kept of all parti-
culars connected with each prisoner ; and every
individual that is discharged, has a long series of
questions proposed to him, his answers to which are
recorded in the Register Book. By this means,
a pretty accurate view may be obtained of the impres-
sions of the prisoners themselves as to the several
parts of the discipline and treatment they undergo
which IS of great value to the Inspectors of the esta!
blishment.

The whole cost of the Penitentiary up to the pre-
sent time has been about 40,000/., of which 30,000/.
las been expended on the building, and 10,000/. in
salaries of the officers and subsistence of the convicts
above the means resulting from their labours!

1 to complete

he whole building and its enclosures ; but after that,

the labours of the convicts will no doubt more than
cieiiay the annual expenditure.

The salaries are all very moderate ; the Warden

airk* Ch^ J D*P“‘y-Warden,

erk. Chaplain, and Surgeon, from 100/. to 150/.

each ; and the rest of the salaries, to keepers

5oT?o™8o/

. per annum ; the aggregate being 2,800/.

the ^t)0/. per annum ; which, with

other items of furniture, medicine, tools &c
make up a total annual cost of about 6,300/. ’ The

KINGSTON.

rations of food do not exceed in cost, however, 7 / 4 d.
per head per day ; and the clothing of each person
20s. for the summer suit, and Sjs. 6d. for the winter
suit, per annum.

The proceeds of the labour of the convicts for
the past year did not exceed 1,500/. ; and of these,
the shoemakers produced about 400/. ; the stone-
cutters, 350/. ; the blacksmiths, 300/. ; and the car-
penters, 150/. To these have now been added a
rope-making establishment, by which a greater
profit will be made than from any other source ;
already large quantities of very excellent cordage
have been produced, and sold to great advantage
within the present year. Here, however, as in the
United States, the mechanics of the town of Kingston
have remonstrated against the manufacture and sale
of the articles produced in the Penitentiary, as coming
in competition with their own labour, and driving
them out of the market by cheapness. This remon-
strance has been effectual ; and the utmost pains
are now taking to direct the labour of the convicts
to the production of articles not made in Kingston ;
and even these are sent principally to distant markets
for sale.

The Episcopal church here being under repair,
and having a new spire making for it, the persons to
whom this work was entrusted, contracted with the
Penitentiary, to quarry and dress the stone required
for the purpose, which they furnished according to
order; but the working-masons employed in the
reparation of the church refused to use the stone,
because it was quarried and dressed by the convicts,
to the detriment of the free and honest labourer; and

CANADA.

accordingly it was all rejected, to the loss of course
of one or both of the contracting parties.

During our stay at Kingston, we made an excur-
sion to visit the works on the Rideau Canal. For
this purpose we drove to the head of the small bay-
lying between the town of Kingston and the penin-
sula on which the Fort is placed ; and extending its
inlet for about six miles to a spot called Kingston
Mills. Our journey there was over a rugged road,

and through a stony and sterile tract, greatly infe-
rior to the land around Toronto, and thickly over-
spread with weeds, including the Scotch and Canada
thistle. In the few patches cultivated, we saw
Indian corn, rye, wheat, and potatoes, but very
scanty crops of either; though the crops in Upper
Canada generally are said to be this year unusually
good, both in quantity and quality. There were
the ordinary rail and snake fences seen in the
United States, with girdled trees, stumps in the
ground, and long trunks lying rotting on the surface ;
with log-huts, and other accompaniments of new
settlements in America; and as bad roads as any-
where in the Union. ^

At the head of this bay, the works of the Rideau
Canal commence, the object being to provide a
^mmunication by water, from the Lake Ontario to
Montreal without going over the rapids, which in
several places obstruct the navigation of the St
Lawrence. The line of the Canal goes therefor^
rom hence to the Ottawa, or Grand River, through
a series of small lakes, and cuts, terminating at

works lieie commence with

KINGSTON.

four locks, that communicate with a small lake
elevated 50 feet above the level of the bay. These

are admirably constructed — the masonry excellent

the fine blue limestone of the country massive in size,
and well united ; and everything connected with the
machinery is in the most perfect order. From this
point of view, the scenery is pleasing, and it is said
to continue so all the way through. The navigation
ot this canal is by small steamboats, which pass
easily through the locks and cuts, so that it is more
expeditious and more comfortable than canal travel-
ling generally. The first four locks being ascended
the boat crosses a lake ten miles before it enters
another cut, and proceeds thus, by artificial channel,
and natural sheets of water, all the way to Bytown •
making the distance of 110 miles in SO hours,
including the stoppages requisite to pass through 47
locks on the way. From %town, the Ottawa boats
descend to Montreal in seven hours, but as these
boats are not always ready on the arrival of the
steamers from the canal, 48 hours is usually em-
ployed in the whole trip of 180 miles.

This great work, which is of the highest impor-
tance to Upper Canada, in the transport of her
produce to the great mart of shipment, Montreal,
was begun in the year 1826, and opened for naviga-
tion in 1830. It has been constructed chiefiylbv
grants from the Imperial Parliament out of the fund's
of the English Treasury, and has cost, on the whole
upwards of 1,000,000/. But the money is well
spent ; and a time will arrive, when the produce con-
veyed on this canal downward, and the manufactured
goods transported on it upwards, will yield a hand-

CANADA.

some return for the original outlay, at a less impost
than the present rate of 7s. 6d. per ton for tolls.

A great fire occurred in Kingston, in the spring
of the present year, occasioned, as some assert, by
the accidental ignition of some wooden shingle-roofs,
by the sparks emitted from a steamboat lying along-
side the wharf 5 and, as others allege, by some
incendiary connected with the late rebellion,— but of
this there is no proof. The fire was very destruc-
tive : as the blue limestone, of which most of the
houses are built, split into fragments by the heat,
and soon fell to pieces. The buildings now erecting
to replace them, are of a better and more substantial
kind ; and the town will be ultimately much improved
in appearance by this change, though its progress is
not very rapid.

There are three Newspapers in Kingston, two of
which are published weekly, and one twice a week ;
this last, the Chronicle, is Conservative ; the Brit-
ish Whig is a supporter of the present Administra-
tion, and the Herald is Radical ; so that each class
of opinions is fairly represented. They are condueted
with great moderation and some ability ; but their
influence on public opinion does not appear to be
much felt or acknowledged. There is a Mechanics’
Institute in the town, which contains nearly SOO
members, at a subscription of 10s. per annum. It
was founded by an Englishman settled here as a
mechanic, who was a member of the Mechanics’
Institution of London, and having experienced the
benefits of this in his own case, he was desirous of
introducing the same advantage at least to his coun-
rymen here. They have a good library, and the

KINGSTON.

Institution is patronized and assisted by the o-entry
of the town. There is also a Temperance Society
here, but, as at Toronto, it is not countenanced, as
It deserves to be, by the higher classes j and yet
every day must furnish to those who walk the’
streets of the town, abundant proof of the utility of
such Societies, and the evils that spring from the
want of them ; as drunken men and drunken women
were seen by us almost every day during our short
stay here ; and places licensed for the sale of ardent
spirits, are almost as abundant as they are at Toronto.

My Lectures were delivered here in the Union
Chapel, and were very fully attended ; amon^^ the
audience were many military officers, the Bishop of
loronto, who was here on a Confirmation Tour, and
nearly all the leading families of the city. Thev
were attended also by the members of the Mechanics’
Institute, and the pupils of the Sundav Schools,
facilities being afforded to the last two classes for
that purpose.

While at Toronto I found there the 32nd regi-
ment of infantry, which were stationed at Madr'as
at the^ period of my being there in 1818, some of
the officers of which I knew ; and here at Kingston
I found stationed the 24th regiment, which” was
stationed in Bengal in 1820, and with many of the
officers of which I was acquainted. A few only of

each remained attached to these regiments now

death, exchanges, and retirements, having made
many changes among them ; but it was agree”able, at
this distance of time and place, to meet even these
few, and talk over old times and Indian affairs.

CANADA.

The society of Kingston is less extensive, less
varied, and less elegant than that of Toronto ; which
may be readily accounted for, as the population is
not so great, the military not so numerous, and the
metropolitan establishment of a Governor and Coun-
cil, a Legislature, Courts of Judicature, are all
wanting to make the parallel complete.* Our recep-
tion here, however, was respectful and kind, though
the cordiality and hospitality of Toronto was too
fresh in our recollection not to make us sensible of
the contrast.

The weather was intensely hot, during the whole
of our stay here, the wind faint from the south-west,
the air sultry, and the thermometer from 90° to 95°
in the shade ; most of the residents, however, said
that this was an unusual degree of heat for Kingston,
though in Montreal and Quebec it was common at
this season of the year.

It was on the last day but one of our stay at
Kingston, that the Governor-General of Canada,
Mr. Poulett Thompson, afterwards Lord Sydenham’
arrived here from Montreal, on his way to the Upper
Lakes, on a tour of inspection. He landed under
a salute from the steamer, and rode to the hotel
accompanied by his staff and suite on horseback!
^o demonstration of enthusiasm marked his arrival
On the following day, he attended at the Court
House, to receive the address intended to be pre-
sented to him, and was there met by the mavor and
aldermen, and about two hundred of the inhabitants.

at Government has been fixed

at Kingston, so that now tlie public officers are numerous there.

KINGSTON.

among whom were forty or fifty ladies. His recep-
tion was respectful, but nothing more \ there was not
the slightest demonstration of any opposite feeling,
ljut in England it would be called cold, though here
it was not meant to be so. On his presenting himself
to the audience, an Address was read by the mayor,
expressing the sentiments of respect entertained
towards the Governor by the inhabitants of Kingston,
and declaring their readiness to co-operate with him
in every measure which should have for its object the
improvement of the country, the calming public
agitation, and the maintenance of British connection.
Ehe lieply to the Address, which had been pre-
viously written, was then handed to the Governor-
General by his secretary, and was read by His
Excellency to the mayor and the inhabitants present.
A similar course was followed with an Address read
on behalf of the Mechanics’ Institution of Kingston,
and the Reply to it ; after which, the Governor-
General descended from the judge’s seat on the
bench, and standing at the foot of the steps leading
to it, received the several individuals who were pre-
sented to him by the mayor. There was no speech
made by any one ; and the reading of the Addresses
and Replies, not occupying more than fifteen
minutes, the whole proceeding was one of the coldest
kind that I had ever witnessed, where congratulation
and respect was really intended to be expressed, and
where nothing like insult or disrespect was meant to
be conveyed, or even insinuated by any of the parties
present.

On the subject of the Bill for uniting the Pro-
vinces of Canada, great differences of opinion pre-

CANADA.

vailed, some hoping all good, some fearing all evil,
from what they regarded as a hazardous experi-
ment ; but amidst all this diversity of opinion, none
failed to acknowledge the great ability of the Gover-
nor-General as a statesman, and his great industry
and aptitude as a practical man of business. Some,
however, doubted the soundness of his judgment —
some questioned his sincerity ; many considered him
to be cunning in the arts of winning assent by per-
sonal influence and tact in the management of indi-
duals ; and still more regarded him as lax in his
morality: some facts that had transpired with respect
to his domestic associates, giving great dissatisfaction
to those who regarded purity of life in any governor,
whether single or married, as of great importance to
the society of a colony, where evil example set by
those in high places, is sure to find imitators in
those who are subordinate in station. These con-
siderations, mingled with great doubt and distrust
as to the beneficial issue of his political measures,
weie assigned as the causes of the coldness which
characterized his reception ; and from all I could
learn in conversation with the inhabitants of Kings-
ton, I believe this to be correct.

His Excellency left the town in the afternoon,
pi oceeding from the hotel on foot to the steamboat,
accompanied by the mayor of the city, and his suite,
in number about a dozen, and embarked at five
o clock in the steamboat attending him. They then
proceeded on a visit to Niagara, and from thence
to the Lakes Erie and Huron, from whence the
Governor - General proposed to return by way of
Upper Canada to Montreal.

CHAP. VII.

Departure from Kingston for Montreal— Passage through The
Thousand Islands— Brockville— Prescott— Osnaburgh— Tube

Ferry — Route by land and water towards Montreal — Passage
through Lake St. Francis— Rapids of the St. Lawrence — Boats
and rafts — French Canadians — Dwellings — Farms — Neatness,
cleanliness, love of flowers, and of dress — Fort — Highlanders
of Glengarry — Village of the Cedars — Village population —
French Parish Church — Junction of the Ottawa River with
the St. Lawrence — Embarkation on the Ottawa at the Cascades
— Visit to Mr. Ellice’s Seigneury of Beauharnois — Indian village
of Caughnawagha — Journey from Lachine to Montreal — Stay
at this city, and occupations there.

Having concluded my labours in Kingston, we left
that city on the morning of Saturday, August 22d,
in the steamer Dolphin, quitting the wharf at half-
past nine. The weather was very beautiful ; and as
we soon got among The Thousand Isles, which here
stretch themselves along the centre of the St. Law-
rence for a distance of forty miles, we had abundant
exercise for all our faculties. The main stream of
the St. Lawrence, as it flows from the western termi-
nation of the Lake Ontario, is about twelve miles
wide ; hut it is so thickly studded with islands, that
it is like passing through a vast archipelago rather
than navigating a river. Though this extensive
range bears the name of The Thousand Isles ; it is
said that there are more than 1,600 of them, which

CANADA.

I can readily believe. The largest of them are from
8 to 10 miles in length, and 4 to 5 in breadth ; and
the smallest of them cover perhaps an acre of space.
They are for the most part rocky, sometimes rising
in abrupt cliffs from the water, and so bold and
steep that you may run the boat near enough
almost to touch the cliffs from the vessel; a few
only are low and flat, but being nearly all wooded,
they form a perpetual succession of the most roman-
tically beautiful and picturesque groups that can be
conceived. The water of the St. Lawrence is of a
bright green tinge, and beautifully clear, much clearer
than the clearest parts of the Upper Mississippi,
almost indeed as transparent as Lake Huron itself;
and from its majestic breadth, its rich and varied
scenery, and the settled population seen along its
banks, the St. Lawrence has a grandeur, as well as
a variety and beauty, about it, which no other river
that we had yet seen on this continent possessed in
an equal degree.

After clearing The Thousand Islands, we continued
down the St. Lawrence, whose stream was here con-
tracted to about two miles in breadth, till we reached
Brockyille, a small town on the left bank, in Canada;
and still proceeding onwards, we reached Prescott,
on the same side, and also in Canada, about 4, p. m.
having been seven hours performing a distance of
seventy miles.

We were detained here four hours in waiting for
the arrival of an American steamer from Lewiston,
which did not come as expected, after all. Prescott,
which contains about 2,000 inhabitants, was the
scene of a battle during the late insurrection in

PRESCOTT.

Canada ; a large party of Canadian insurgents,
aided and joined by several Americans, having come
over from the opposite town of Osnahurgh, in the
State of New York, to attack Prescott ; but thev
were signally defeated, and a great number of their
body were killed, wounded, and taken prisoners.
Osnahurgh is somewhat larger than Prescott, and
presents a good appearance from the Canadian side,
across the stream, which is here about two miles in
breadth. A ferry-boat, which is constructed on a
very simple, but excellent plan, plies between the two
towns. Two long hollow tubes, of about a foot in
diameter, and painted at each end, are placed parallel
to each other on the water, at a distance of from ten
to twelve feet apart. On these tubes a platform is
laid across, surrounded by a railing; and in the
centre of the whole is a/ water-wheel or paddle,
between the tubes, worked by a small engine. The
tubes having much less hold of the water than a
boat’s hull would have, the whole fabric is propelled
with great speed by small power, because of the
little resistance or friction ; I should conceive it
highly advantageous to introduce this principle more
extensively in steam - rafts on rivers, as combining
economy, speed, and capacity for burden, in a
greater degree than almost any other form of con-
struction.*

* Since my return to England, and while these sheets are
going through the press, I have had the pleasure to see, at the
Marquis of Northampton’s Soiree, as President of the Royal
Society, on Saturday, the 2otli of Feb. an ingenious application
of the same principle to a new Life-Buoy, which was composed
of a single metallic tube, or cylinder, of about three feet in
diameter, and twelve feet in length ; — having in the centre a

CANADA.

We left Prescott at 9 p- m., and, hurried on by a
current going at the rate of about four miles an hour,
we reached a place called Dickenson’s Landing,
some miles below Prescott, at two in the morning.
Here we had to leave the boat, and go twelve miles
by a stage-coach, to avoid the Longue Sault, one of
the many turbulent Rapids, by which the navigation
of the St. Lawrence is occasionally interrupted be-
tween Kingston and Montreal. It rained torrents,
and was so dark that it was difficult to see ten yards
ahead, so that our removal and transfer of baggage
was most uncomfortable. There were three stage-
coaches in waiting, and by these we were conveved
over as rough a road as we ever found in the United
States. The whole distance of our land-journey was
twelve miles, but about midway, from the rough roads
and careless driving, one of the three coaches was
upset, and the passengers much bruised by the fall.
We remained to assist, in the dark and rainy night,
in getting the coach up again, the baggage reloaded,
and the passengers reseated ; and proceeding on our
journey, we reached the place of embarkation below
the Rapid at 4 a. m. Here we embarked in the
Highlander, a larger and better steamboat than the
Dolphin ; but both of them were greatly inferior to
American boats even of the same class.

In this vessel we started at 6 a. m. from Corn-
wall, opposite to which the American border begins

liollow well, like that of the Esquimaux’ and other Indians’
fishing-canoes, into which half-a-dozen men might get, and with
the paddles attached to the sides of the buoy, propel themselves
speedily alongside a ship, or to the shore : while from its light-
ness It would ride easily over the highest surf. *

GLEXGAKRY.

to recede from the river, the line of 45° of latitude
constituting the boundary line ; passed down the lake
St. Francis, an expansion of the St. Lawrence, through
some fine scenery, with a number of large and small
islands scattered over the stream ; and after a short
trip of forty miles, with the British shore now on
both sides, we reached another landing, called the
Couteau du Lac, about 10 a. m. Here we again
disembarked, dividing ourselves among three coaches,
and proceeded along the left bank of the river, the
road winding with the stream, and keeping within
a few yards of its edge. The distance of this land-
journey was sixteen mites, which we performed in
two hours. Nearly the whole of the way we observed
small villages, and single dwellings of the Canadian
peasantry lining the road on the left, while the Rapids
of the St. Lawrence, which this land-journey was
taken to avoid, as no steamboats can pass over them,
varied the picture agreeably on our right. Over
these Rapids we had an opportunity of seeing the
deeply-laden cargo-boats of the country, and large
rafts of timber, carried with the veloeity of twenty
miles an hour, in a turbulent and agitated mass of
foaming white waves and breakers.

The dwellings of the Canadians, though humble,
appeared to us to be all characterized by great neat-
ness and cleanliness in their interiors ; the farms
were well fenced, and in better order than we had ex-
pected to find them, after the representations we had
heard of their slovenly mode of eultivation. The
peasants themselves were Freneh in their physiog-
nomy, as well as language, and French in their habits
and manners ; so enduring are national peculiarities

CANADA.

even after long subjection to another power. Their
love of flowers was seen in the adornment of their
windows, and the walls and doors of their cottages,
with the geranium, the rose, and the jasmin ; and
their love of dress was evinced in the gay colours
and neat ornaments of the women and children.
We passed, in the course of this ride, a small fort,
at which were stationed a corps of volunteers doing
duty ; these were from the district of Glengarry, a
short distance from this, in the interior, originally set-
tled with Highlanders, and remarkable for their loy-
alty amidst the general disaffection of the French
Canadians, by whom they were surrounded.

About midway of the distance between the Couteau
du Lac and the Cascades, to which our land-journey
extended, we passed through the village of Les Ce-
dres, where a large number of the habitans, as the
country-people are called, were assembled in the
village-green. The whole picture was more like the
gathering for a rural fete in some town of Switzerland
or France, than anything we had expected to meet
on the continent of America. The Church being
Open, we went to see it, while the stage-coach carried
the mail to the post-office ; and were struck with its
large size, tasteful arrangement, and costly decora-
tions. Though an ordinary parish church of the
village, it was larger than most of the new churches
of London : and being very lofty, with an arched
roof, and without side-galleries or pillars, it had an
air of vastness and lightness combined, which was
peculiarly impressive. The altar was richly carved
and gilded, the ceiling was gorgeously ornamented ;
the pulpit was exquisitely carved, yet beautifully

OTTAAYA RIVER.

chaste in its snowy whiteness ; and the principal, as
well as the side-altars, were dressed in excellent
taste. There were pews for the congregation, as in
the English and American churches, though this is
not usual in the Catholic churches of France ; a
large organ and choir occupied the greater portion
of the end-gallery opposite to the altar ; the pictures
were neither too numerous nor too gaudy, though not
of first-rate execution ; and about the whole there was
a harmony and keeping which was at once rich, with-
out being tawdry, and gay and brilliant, without
being deficient in sobriety or solemnity.

At noon, we reached the next place of embark-
ation, which is called the Cascades, it being the
westernmost point of junction, at which the Ottawa,
or Grand River, falls into the St. Lawrence ; two
other branches of the Ottawa going north-eastward,
and dividing the Isle of Jesus from the Island of
Montreal, and both from the continent of the oppo-
site shores. The Ottawa, though a tributary of the
St. Lawrence, is a large river, rising in the latitude
of 48° north, and running in a south-east direction
at least 500 miles, receiving several smaller streams
on both sides in its way. It is on the banks of this
river that the principal part of the timber shipped
from Montreal and Quebec, is hewn, and collected
into rafts to be floated down the stream ; and here
the old race of boatmen, or voyageurs, still linger.
The waters of the Ottawa have a tinge of reddish-
brown, which is strikingly contrasted with the light
ffreen colour of the waters of the St. Lawrence. At this

point of their junction, the distinction between the
two streams is as well defined as between the waters

CANADA.

of the Missouri and Mississippi, and it is said that
this distinction continues visible for more than a
hundred miles below Montreal.

Embarking at the Cascades on another steamer,
we proceeded onward by the St. Lawrence towards
Beauharnois, where we landed to take in wood. The
boat remaining here for some time, we took the
opportunity of going up to the village, walking
around it, and conversing with its inhabitants. This
spot was the scene of a terrible conflagration during
the late rebellion, and we saw several of the houses
remaining just in the state in which they were left
after the fire, without any steps having been since
taken to remove even the rubbish and ashes occa-
sioned by the burning. The estate of Beauharnois,
of which this is the principal village, extends for a
great distance from this spot, covering, it is said,
a space of about eighteen miles square. The Seig-
neury or ownership, of this large property, was
vested in Mr. Edward Ellice, M.P. for Coventry,
and his son happened to be here at the time of the
rising of the rebels. He was taken prisoner, with
several others, and held for some days in close con-
finement, but supplied with every necessarv, and
ultimately released. It is said here that the whole
ot this fine property was sold to Mr. Ellice some
years since for less than 10,000/.; that the im-
provements made on it by him, have cost about an
equal sum, making the whole outlay 20,000/. ; and
t^hat during the whole of the period it has been in

derived an income of at least

c;nO ^ it- The whole has been re-
cently sold by him to a Company of Proprietors in

LACniNE.

England for about 120,000/., and these even are
thought to have made a cheap purchase ; — so
valuable is this fine estate, comprising upwards of
200,000 acres of good land, a large portion under
cultivation, with many buildings, and within a few
miles of the city of Montreal. In twenty years
hence, with the infusion of a good class of settlers,
and the judicious application of capital, the value of
this estate may be easily raised to 500,000/. ; and in
half a century it can hardly fail to be worth a mil-
lion. Mr. Ellice has the reputation here of having
been a very liberal Seigneur, facilitating every im-
provement, consulting the interests of his tenants,
huildinff for their use both a Catholic and a Pro-

o ^

testant place of worship ; looking to the ultimate
rather than immediate profits to be raised from his
property, his efforts have been eminently successful,
while the country cannot fail to be benefited by the
increase of settlers which the Company of Pro-
prietors, to whom this estate is now sold, will no
doubt speedily attract to it.

Leaving Beauharnois, we descended the St. Law-
rence about twenty miles to Lachine, where we were
again obliged to disembark, and take a land-journey
by stage of nine miles, to Montreal, to avoid the
Rapids of the river between this place and the city,
which are impassable by steamboats, and only navi-
gated by cargo-craft and timber-rafts, in which, of
course, there is no accommodation for passengers.
Nearly opposite to Lachine, is the Indian settlement
of Caughnawagha, where about 500 Iroquois Indians
in a semi-civilized state, reside under the government
of a chief, who is paid a certain annuity for himself

CANADA.

and the tribe, by the British government, in return
for the cession of their lands, and who acts under
instructions from the Governor of the Province, to
whom he is held responsible for the good conduct
of the settlement. These Indians are all Roman
Catholics, and the priest has control over the chief
as w'ell as his people. There is large church, which
looks imposing at a distance, but the dwellings of
the Indians are poor and mean, and the settlement is
miserable and dirty. The same reluctance to labour,
which characterizes the whole race, is observed
among the males at Caughnawagha, the chief bur-
den being thrown upon the females ; and such is the
fondness, in both sexes, for ardent spirits, that in-
toxication is freely indulged in, without the slightest
punishment or even sense of shame, so that "there
is little or no hope of their physical or moral im-
provement.

Fiom Lachine we came by a good road, nine
miles to Montreal, the aspect of everything wo
obser^d on the way being perfectly French — the
dwellings, signs, names of streets, physiognomy,
dress, language— all resembling what would be met
with at the entrance to any pi-ovincial town in
France, until we got into the heart of the city,
wheie some admixture of English persons and Eng-
hsh sounds began to be seen and heard. We arrived
at Rasco’s hotel about 5 p.m. ; having been, therefore,
32 hours from Kingston to Montreal, performing a
distance of about 200 miles, and the fare being 10
dollars each. The house was extremely full, this
^eing the season of the year in which travellers
lom the United States extend their excursions into

MONTREAL.

Canada ; but we were so fortunate as to obtain
apartments, and were glad enough to repose after
one of the most fatiguing journeys we had for a long
time experienced, arising chiefly from the frequent
shiftings from steamboat to stage-coach, to avoid the
many Rapids of the St. Lawrence, and the want of
sleep on the way.

We remained at Montreal for a fortnight, which
we passed very agreeably, in visiting all the institu-
tions of the city. Catholic and Protestant, in excur-
sions to the Mountain, and other parts of the
neighbourhood, and in the interchange of visits
with those to whom we brought letters of introduc-
tion. We met here, too, as usual, a great number of
persons whom I had known in other countries ; and
among them, one of the members for Coventry, on
a pleasure - excursion from England to visit the
Canadas, and pass by the Lakes on to the Valley
of the Mississippi. Indeed, almost every day brought
some old acquaintance to pay me a visit. I found
among the resident merchants and gentlemen in
official station, the greatest readiness to answer every
inquiry, and facilitate every investigation ; and the
result of my labours during our stay at Montreal
will be found embodied in the following history and
description of the city.

CHAP. Vlll.

Karly history of Montreal — Indian village of Hoclielaga — Tribe
of the Hurons — Cession of Montreal to the Jesuit Missionaries
— Consecration of the spot selected for the town — Transfer
of the Island to the St. Sulpicians — First intercourse and
traffic with the Indians — Foundation of the Seminary of St.

Sulpice — Horrible massacre of the whites by the Indians

Surrender of Montreal to the British — Terrible fire — Depre-
ciation of Paper Money — Capture of Montreal by Americans
— Recapture — Visit of Prince William Henry, late King of

England — Awful and alarming atmospherical phenomenon

Destructive ravages of the Asiatic cholera— First overt act of
rebellion in Montreal— Probable future seat of the United
Government.

Montreal is one of the oldest settlements on the
North American continent, taking precedence, in
point of date, both over the landing of the Pilgrim
bathers on the Rock of Plymouth, and the founding
of Jamestown in Virginia by Captain Smith. As
early as the year 1535, it was visited by Cartier, a
French navigator from St. Malo, who had been
engaged in the cod-fishery on the hanks of New-
foundland. He sailed from France on the 20th of
April, 1534, with two small vessels of sixty tons
each, and reached Newfoundland in the short space
of twenty days. Passing through the Straits of
Belleisle, he entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence, tra-
versed the Bay of Chaleurs, to which he gave this
name, because of the great heat experienced in it.

MONTREAL.

took possession of Gaspe, by erecting a cross there
with the fleur-de-lis, in the name of the King of
France, and prevailed on two native Indians to
return with him to his country. Fhe success of this
first voyage led to a second, in which he sailed from
France with three vessels, on the 19th of May in
the following year, 15S5, and entering the great
river of Canada — to which he was the first to give
the name of the St. Lawrence, because it was first
entered on the day dedicated to that saint in the
Roman calendar, namely, the 10th of August — he
passed up as high as where Quebec now stands, and
leaving his vessels there, came up the river in boats,
and on the 3rd of October reached the Indian
settlement of Hochelaga, on the spot where the city
of Montreal now stands.

The Indians then occupying this village, were of
the tribe of Hurons ; their settlement, however, was
very small, not containing more than fifty wigwams,
which are described as being shaped like tunnels,
fifty feet in length by fifteen in breadth, divided into
several chambers, and having a gallery running
round the upper part of each. The whole of the
settlement was encompassed by a circular enclosure,
and guarded by three separate rows of pickets or
wooden stakes, as fences, there being but one en-
trance into the village, and this being guarded with
great care against the attacks of enemies. These
Indians were acquainted with husbandry and fishing,
and lived a stationary life. They received their
white visitors with great courtesy and hospitality ;
but never having before seen men of a different
colour from themselves, everything about their per-

CANADA.

sons, dresses, and arms, excited intense curiosiU’.
Cartier examined the mountain whieh rises behind
the present city, and which then overlooked the
Indian village of Hochelaga, and was so pleased
with the magnificent prospect from its summit, that
he called it, in honour of the King of France,
Mount Royal, which name it continued to bear for
at least seventy years afterwards, as it is so called in
documents of the year 1 690 to I70O; but it was
afterwards changed to Montreal, though by whom,
and under what circumstances, does not appear.

Though Cartier had formed the idea of establish-
ing a French settlement here, at the period of his
visit, his speedy retm’n to France prevented its
execution at that time, and it was not until more
than a century afterwards, in 1640, that it actually
took place. In the mean while, Canada, from being
originally a French possession, had for a short time
become English, and then reverted to its original
occupants again. It was in 1629, in the reign of
Charles the First of England, that the whole of New
France, as it was then called, fell into the hands of
the English, by capture ; but in 1632, it was restored
to the French, by the peace of St. Germain-en-Laye,
the treaty of which was signed on the 29th of March,
in that year.

In 1640, the King of France ceded the whole of
the Island of Montreal to a Company, consisting of
thiity-five individuals, who had associated themselves
for the purpose of colonizing the settlement as
Missionaries, and propagating the Christian religion
among the Indians. Several French families were
induced to come out as settlers also, under the aus-

MONTREAL.

pices of Mons. do Maisonneuve, who was appointed
Governor of the Colony, then confined to the Island,
and thus the germ of a new community was formed.

In 1642, the spot selected for building the new
French town, which was close to the Indian village
of Hochelaga, was consecrated by the Superior of the
Jesuits. This ceremony took place on the 29th of
May, on the Island of Montreal ; hut it had been
preceded by a similar ceremony in Paris, about three
months before, when the thirty-five Associates went
together to the Church of Notre Dame, and suppli-
cated the Virgin Mary to take the Island of Mont-
real under her protection. A further ceremony was
observed, by the same persons, on the Island itself,
on the 15th of August, in the same year, on the
Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin ; and all the
pomp and pageantry of the Catholic worship was
put forth in its most imposing form, to impress the
Indians with an exalted idea of the new religion
which they were called upon to embrace.

In 1644, the whole of the property of the Island
of Montreal, was transferred by the Associates, to
whom it had been granted by the King of France,
to the Society of the St. Sulpicians at Paris ; and by
them it was conveyed to the Seminary of the St. Sul-
picians, a branch of their own order, then at Mont-
real In their hands it has continued ever since,
not having been disturbed by the English conquest
of the Province, or by any legislative enactment ;
and to remove all doubt respecting their legal right
and title to the property, which had begun to be
questioned or disputed, there has been recently issued,
by the Governor-General in Council, an Ordinance

CANADA.

of Incorporation, granting to the Seminary of St.
Sulpice, the whole of the Seigneury of the Island of
Montreal, with all the rights and privileges thereunto
appertaining.

As the European inhabitants of Montreal began
to increase, they attracted the attention of the In-
dians of the neighbouring tribes to their settlement,
and the Iroquois being tempted to attack them,
they soon found the necessity of fortifying their
position, which they did at first simply with stockades,
but afterwards with a stone wall, fifteen feet high,
with battlements and gates, affording abundant
security. Montreal then became the chief mart for
the fur-trade with the Indians of the Ottawa river
and its tributaries ; and a large fair was held here
from J une till August : but though large profits were
made by the French traders through these fairs,
great injury occurred to the health and morals of the
Indians, who were here first made acquainted with
the use of ardent spirits ; and here, as they have
done everywhere, wherever this poison has been in-
troduced, they have committed such excesses, as to
be intoxicated as long as the supply of the destructive
poison lasted ; and to have contracted a fondness for
it, which no time or subsequent experience seems to
have the power to destroy.

In 1657, the Abbe Quetus arrived from France
with authority from the Order of St. Sulpicians, in
Paris, to effect snch improvements as might be
deemed desirable j and it was by him that the
Seminary of St. Sulpice was first built here, avowedly
for the education and conversion of the Indians, but
also for educating young men to the priesthood, and

MONTREAL.

supplying clergy to the parishes, as well as founding
a hospital for the diseased of all classes ; in which
benevolent labours they were greatly assisted by
large donations from pious individuals in France.

In 1689, Montreal was the scene of a horrible
massacre of its inhabitants by the Iroquois Indians,
a body of whom, to the extent of 1,200, invaded the
island on the 26th of July, in that year, and attack-
ing the town, put to death by the tomahawk and the
war-club upwards of a thousand of the French,
including men, women, and children, and carried off
twenty-six prisoners, whom they reserved for a more
horrible death, and burnt alive at the stake ! Char-
levoix, the French historian of the times, adds also,
that these monsters actually ripped open the wombs
of pregnant women, and tore from thence their
unborn infants, whom they roasted alive in the pre-
sence of their expiring mothers, and compelled those
who had strength enough left to move, to turn their
own offspring round before the fire 1 1

In 1720, Montreal contained 3,000 inhabitants,
and in 1757, these had increased to 5,000. In I76O,
about a year after the surrender of Quebec to the
British, after the battle in which General Wolfe
was killed, Montreal was invested by three detach-
ments, coming from opposite directions, and all
under brave and skilful officers. General Murray,
with a force from Quebec ; General Amherst, with
a force from Oswego, then a British post; and
Colonel Haviland, from the opposite shore of the
St. Lawrence. The French commandant, Governor
Vaudreuil, proposed a capitulation, and the terms
being mutually agreed on, the city was given up to

100

CANADA.

the British, without a battle, on the 8 th of September,
1760 ; Quebec having surrendered on the 18th of
September, 1759.

In 1765, a terrible fire broke out in Montreal,
on the 16th of May, by which, in a very few hours,
no less than 108 houses were destroyed, and 215
families reduced to great distress. A subscription
for their relief was opened in England ; and His
Majesty, George the Third, contributed 500/. to the
list. The loss by the fire exceeded 100,000/. In less
than three years after this, another extensive fire
occurred, breaking out on the 11th of April, 1768 ;
by which ninety houses were consumed, two churches,
and a large charity-school ; and the distress occa-
sioned by this second conflagration was even greater
than by the first. In addition to this, immense
losses were sustained by the inhabitants, who were
holders of the Government paper-money of that day,
called “card-money.” This had been used for
thirty years before the conquest of Canada, for the
payment of all the civil and military expenses of the
colony, in the nature of drafts made by the French
Intendant on the Royal Treasury at Paris ; which
circulated as freely, and with as much confidence in
their validity, as if they were gold or silver. But a
fraudulent issue of these having been made for his
own private purposes, beyond the necessary expense
of the colony, by the Intendant, named Bigot, to
whom the entire management of its finances had
been entrusted, they were refused payment, by order
of the King at the French Treasury ; and the unfor-
tunate holders never realized more than 4 per cent,
of the original value of their notes, so that many

MOISTREAL.

101

persons accustomed to affluence were by this calamity
reduced to bankruptcy and want, without the slightest
hope of redress.

In 1775 , the revolution of the United States
against Great Britain being then in progress, Mont-
real was attacked by the American General, Mont-
gomery, and there being but few troops in the town,
it was surrendered to him on the ISth of November.
It remained in possession of the revolutionary force
until the month of May in the following year, when
reinforcements arriving from England, it was re-
taken. Soon after this, the peace of 1783 gave
general tranquillity to all the remaining possessions
of the British in this quarter. From this period,
the trade and population of Montreal gradually
increased ; and the French inhabitants appeared
to be perfectly reconciled to the authority of their
new rulers.

In 1787 , the late King William the Fourth, then
Prince William Henry, visited Quebec in the Pega-
sus, of 28 guns, of which he was then commander ;
and proceeding up the St. Lawrence to Montreal,
he entered it on the 8 th of September, and was
received with great honour as a member of the Royal
Family of England.

During the war with the United States from 1812
to 1814, Montreal was several times threatened, and
twice in great danger from hostile attacks y but
happily the city escaped them all, and at the peace a
new impetus was given to the increase of her trade
and population.

In 1819, a most remarkable phenomenon occurred
at Montreal, which infused terror into all classes.

CANADA.

loa

According to the account given of it by the Journals
of the day, it must have been most alarming. It
was on the morning of Sunday, the 8th of November,
that the sun rose of a pink colour, seen through a
hazy atmosphere, and with a greenish tinge on all
the clouds that were visible ; this was succeeded by
a dense mass of black clouds, from whence descended
heavy rains, depositing on the earth large quantities
of a substance that had the appearance and smell of
common soot. On Tuesday the 9th, the same phe-
nomenon was repeated, but with more intensity. The
rising-sun was of a deep orange colour ; the clouds
in the heavens were some green and others of a pitchy
blackness ; the sun then alternated between a blood
red and a deep brown colour ; and at noon it was so
dark, that candles were obliged to be lighted in all
the houses. All the brute animals appeared to he
struck with terror ; and uttered their fears in mourn-
ful cries, as they hurried to such places of shelter as
were within their reach. At three o’clock it was as
dark as night; and out of the pitchy clouds proceeded
lightnings more vivid, and thunders more loud, than
had ever before been heard, causing the floors of the
houses to tremble to such a degree, as to throw those
who were seated or standing off their feet. After
this, torrents of rain fell, bringing masses of the same
sooty substance noticed before; a short period of
light followed, and after this, at 4 o’clock it was as
dark as ever. The hall at the top of the steeple of
the Roman Catholic church was next seen enveloped
in flames ; the fire-alarm was given by all the bells
in the city, and the cry of “ fire ” was repeated in
every street. The populace rushed to the open

MONTREAL.

103

square, near the Church, called the » Place d’ Armes
and every one seemed impressed with a belief, that
some great convulsion of nature was about to take
place, or that the last day was at hand. The iron
cross, which was sustained by the ball on fire, soon
fell on the pavement with a loud erash, broken into
many pieces ; the rain again descended in torrents,
blacker even than before ; and as the water flowed
like ink through the streets and gutters, it carried
alono- on its surface a foam like that produced by the
violent action of the sea. The night was darker
than ever ; and the fate of the buried cities of Her-
culaneum and Pompeii seemed to be awaiting the
town of Montreal! Fortunately, however, the fol-
lowing day* was light and serene ; though it required
some time to tranquillize the fears, which these sin-
gular, and hitherto unexplained appearances, had
very naturally engendered. It is said that many of
the towns east and west of this, as far indeed as
Kingston on the one hand, and Quebec on the other,
had witnessed something of these appearances ; but
they were nowhere exhibited with so much intensity
as at Montreal.

In 1832, this city was visited by the Asiatic cno-
lera, and about 2,000 persons were carried otF by it
between June and September in that year; the
burials on the 19th of June, amounting to 149, out ot
a population of 28,000. Indeed it is asserted, that ot
the inhabitants in Lower Canada, then amounting
to about half a million, a greater number had been
swept away by this disease, in the short space of
three months, than had fallen by the same scourge
among the population of England, embracing up-

104

CANADA.

wards of fifteen millions, in double that space of
time.

In 1837, the first overt aets of the rebellion of
Lower Canada, were committed in Montreal. On
Monday, the 6th of November in that year, a party
of about 300 persons, calling themselves “ The Sons
of Liberty,’ issued forth from a building in St.
James’s Street, in which they had assembled; and
being armed with pistols, sabres, and other weapons,
they attacked whoever fell in their way, and literally
swept the streets clear for a time. The loyal inha-
bitants, however, soon rallied, and the military
coming to their aid, the insurgents were speedily
dispersed. Some of the more zealous of the
Government party proceeded to the office of The
Vindicator, a journal that had assisted in the pro-
pagation of seditious sentiments ; and destroying
its presses and types by violence, they thus ren-
dered it powerless for the future. At night, peace
was restored ; and the city itself, after that, was not
again the scene of actual warfare, the insurgents
confining their operations to the smaller towns.

Since the suppression of the rebellion, Montreal
has been perfectly tranquil ; and as, by the Union
of the Provinces, it is likely to become the seat
of the general government, instead of Quebec or
Toronto, at which the respective Legislatures of
Lower and Upper Canada previously held their
sittings, it is probable that it will increase in popu-
lation, wealth, and importance, in a much greater
ratio than heretofore.

CHAP. IX.

Description of its architecture and interior— Roman Cathobc

s'iTr~f«r« rt

ISS«i^5|i

ry • ATrvntrP‘tl—— British, ftiid. 0<in8,di3,n School

FrSeTant'^National School-McGiU’s College for the higher
branches of education.

The City of Montreal is seated on the south-east
side of tL island of the same name, with the river
St. Lawrence flowing before it, from south-west to
north-east, from a mile and half to two miles in
breadth. The junction of the Ottawa or Grand
River with the St. Lawrence, encompasses two large
islands, and several of a smaller size The tvvo
larcre ones are the Isle of Jesus, which is nearest to
the northern, and the Isle of Mount Royal, wteh
is nearest to the southern and eastern shore, with
navigable channels for small vessels between each.

The hill called Mount Royal rises behind the town

106

CANADA.

to the north-west, and forms a prominent object in
the picture from every point of view. It is about
550 feet in elevation above the stream, is well wooded
over the greatest part of its extent, and its side
towards the St. Lawrence is dotted with many beau-
tiful villas and gardens, which add much to the
charm of the landscape, while the view from its
summit is extensive and picturesque in the extreme.
The island is about twenty-eight miles in length, ten
miles in its greatest breadth, and seventy miles in
circumference y and its fertility is such as to give it
the name of the Garden of Canada. The island is
divided into ten parishes, each having its parish
church, vicar, and cures, according to the original
apportionment of the ecclesiastical authorities of the
Catholics. The Seigneury, or feudal lordship of
the manor, belongs chiefly to the Seminary of the
St. Sulpicians j and yields a large revenue toward the
support of their order and the Catholic church.

The town extends along the border of the river
for about three miles, including the suburbs and
inward from the water a breadth of about a mile and
quarter, covering an area of about a thousand acres
of land. The principal streets run nearly north-east
and south-west, almost parallel to the stream of the
St. Lawrence, which runs a little more northerly.
The principal street is called Notre Dame Street,
and this goes along a ridge elevated about fifty feet
above the river’s bank ; while below it, nearer the
water, and almost parallel to it, but with greater
irregularities in its line, runs St. Paul’s Street. The
former is the principal promenade of fashion, in
which are the best shops, the principal churches.

MONTKEAL.

107

and the public edifices. The latter is the chief
street of the merchants, in which the Custom-house,
and the largest stores and warehouses, are placed.
From this ridge, along the summit of which Notre
Dame Street leads, you look down to the south-east
over a gradual declivity to the river ; and on the
other side, or north-west, you also look down over
a gradual declivity to the plain or valley of the land;
the lateral streets from St. Paul’s sloping upwards
to Notre Dame, and downwards from Notre Dame
to the plain on the land-side, crossing the longitudi-
nal streets at right angles. There are six suburbs,
though these are all included within the City boun-
dary, and, like the fauxbourgs of Paris, they form
continuous parts of the same town. These are the
Quebec Suburb, on the north-east; the St. Law-
rence Suburb, on the north-west ; and the Suburbs
of St. Antoine, St. Joseph, St. Ann, and Recollet,
on the south-east and south-west.

All the older parts of the town are as irregular,
and the streets as narrow, as in the oldest towns of
France ; but in the more modern parts of the City,
the streets are much broader and more regular in
their lines of direction. The Rue Notre Dame,
which is nearly a mile long, and is by far the finest
avenue in the whole, is only thirty feet broad ; and
St. Paul’s, which is the next in importance, is still
narrower. Some of the lanes and alleys leading from
this down to the river, are barely sufficient for a
horse and cart to go through, obliging the passenger
who meets it to shrink back against the wall to avoid
coming in contact with the wheels, reminding him
of some of the narrowest lanes leading out of Cheap-

108

CANADA.

side and the neighbourhood of St. Paul’s Cathedral,
in London. Craig Street and McGill Street, are
however, from sixty to eighty feet broad ; and with
these examples, no doubt all future additions to the
City will be on a similar scale. The streets are in
pneral wretchedly paved, full of deep holes and
inequalities ; so that a drive over them in one of the
caleches of the town, might be imposed as a penance,
from the violent shaking it gives the whole frame.
In some parts of the City the streets are macadamized,
and these are sufficiently smooth and agreeable ; but
the material used being limestone and not granite,
is too easily pulverized, and is, therefore, subject to
the double inconvenience of being very muddy in
wet weather, and very dusty in dry. The side-
walks are necessarily very narrow, and most of them
broken and irregular also , so that neither driving
nor walking can be much enjoyed in the streets
Montreal.

The houses are chiefly built of the grey lime-
stone, with which the adjoining mountain abounds ;
the older buildings, of irregularly shaped blocks,
united with cement, and the interstices filled up
with smaller stones ; but the more recent build-
ings are of squared and hewn blocks, well dressed or
smoothed, and united in the best style of masonry.
The roofs are mostly covered with tin-plate, in the
shape of slate-tiles, or wooden shingles ; and as the
dryness of the climate and remoteness from the sea,
occasions it to preserve its brightness for many years
without rust, the roofs and spires give out a dazzling
whiteness in the bright sunshine, which is at once
novel and agreeable. The modern shops, or stores

MONTREAL.

109

as they are called here, where the American phra-
seology is strangely mingled with the French, are
many of them as large and as handsome as in New
York or Philadelphia ; and the greatest number of
them are lighted with gas, though that improvement
has not yet been introduced into the lighting of
the streets. In most of the older warehouses, iron
shutters and doors are used, as preventives to the
spread of fire ; and the tin roofs are partly adopted
because of their saving houses from the risk of con-
flagration by the falling of sparks, which so often
spread the ravages of fire in cities, where wooden
roofs are common, though economy and durability
are its chief recommendations.

Of the public edifices of Montreal, the churches
form the most prominent ; and of these, the new
Catholic cathedral is the largest and most important.
The order of the architecture is Norman Gothic,
and the whole of the exterior is remarkably plain.
The front presents itself to the west near the centre
of Notre Dame Street, and opposite the open square
called the Place d’Armes, by which means its fii§ade
is shown to great advantage. The loftiness of the
arcades at the entrance, which are about fifty feet in
height, give it an imposing air; but at present it
wants the finish of its towers, to give it all the effect
which these, when completed, will produce. The
size of the building is large, being 255 feet in length,
135 feet in breadth, and 72 feet in height ; the two
front towers on the west being intended to be 220
feet high. The interior is arranged and decorated
in extremely bad taste. The body of the ground-
floor, which slopes by a gradual descent from the

110

CANADA.

door to the altar, the whole length of the building,
is filled with pews ; and a double row of side gal-
leries rising one over the other, as in a theatre, con-
tains other pews, there being 504 on the ground-
floor, and 370 in each of the galleries, making in
the whole 1,244, capable of seating comfortably
8,000 persons ; and with the occupation of the
aisles and passages, which are very broad, affording
space enough for 10,000 persons under the same
roof.

The galleries are sustained by large clustered
pillars, which are painted in the worst taste, to
resemble blue and white clouded marble j the pews
are of a dark yellow colour, and the ornaments of
deep brown, producing a most tawdry effect. Even
the great east window, the size of which is 64 feet
in height by 32 in breadth, is rendered mean and
vulgar in its appearance, by the paintings of its 36
compartments executed as transparencies instead of
the rich-coloured glass of the ancient cathedrals of
Europe.

The roof is groined, and is 80 feet in height, but
it wants the rich carving and gilding of the older
edifices to cover its nakedness. The space enclosed
for the high altar is large, and within it are ranges
of semicircular seats for the inferior clergy and
assistants, of whom there are sometimes a hundred
present, in surplices and caps ; but the principal altar
and all the smaller ones, of which there are seven
in diflferent parts of the church, are greatly inferior
to what the scale of the building would lead one to
expect. T, he organ also is small and without strength
or beauty of tone, while the chanting was inferior

MONTREAL.

Ill

to that of the smallest Catholic churches in Europe.
The pulpit is attached to one of the side-pillars on
the north, about the middle of the cathedral, and hay-
ing no stairs to ascend up from helow, access to it
can only be had through the northern lower gallery,
on a level with which it is placed. The preacher
has no portion of the congregation facing him as he
stands, except those in the opposite gallery ; all those
in the gallery from the front of which he speaks,
being behind him, and all those in the lower part of
the church having their faces to the altar at the
east, while he is looking south, or at right angles
across their heads. While the exterior of the build-
ing is imposing from its size, and chaste in its sira-
plfcity, the interior is more awkwardly arranged than
any similar edifice I remember. The cathedral was
commenced in 1824, and was opened for worship in
1829, when high mass was performed, and an oration
delivered, in presence of nearly the whole of the
Canadian Catholic clergy. The then British Gover-
nor of Lower Canada, Sir James Kempt, and his
official staff of civil and military officers, with up-
wards of 8,000 inhabitants of the city, also attended.

Besides the cathedral, there are three other
Roman Catholic churches ; that of St. James’s, called
the Bishop’s church, as Montreal was erected into a
bishopric in 1836, in which church the bishop per-
forms divine worship : — the Recollet church, in
which the Irish Catholics chiefly assemble and the
church of Notre Dame de Bon Secours, principally
frequented by the French ; while all classes of
Catholics attend the cathedral.

The Protestant Episcopal church, called Christ

112

CANADA.

church, forms one of the ornaments of Notre Dame
Street, on the opposite side to that on which the
large cathedral stands, and a little north of it. It
was commenced in 1 805, but suspended for want of
funds till 1812, when a parliamentary grant of
4,000^. enabled the builders to proceed, and in 1814
it was first opened for public worship. In 1818, it
was erected by letters patent from the Greal Seal in
Dngland, into a parish church and rectory, making
the rector, churchwardens, and members for the
time being, a body corporate, to manage all its pecu-
niary affairs. The church is 120 feet in length by
80 in breadth, and the tower and spire rises to a
height of 204 feet. The front is a simple Doric in
the exterior, with pilasters and pediment, as there
was not depth enough for a portieo, the building
receding only a few feet within the line of the street.
The interior is Corinthian ; and the pews, galleries,
pulpit, and altar, are all remarkable for their chaste-
ness of design and good taste in decoration, while
the organ, procured from London at an expense of
1,500Z., is one of the best in the country.

There are three Scotch churches belonging to the
Established Kirk of Scotland. The oldest of these
was opened in 1792, and from its steeple, it is said
the first Protestant bell was sounded in Canada.
The second, called St. Andrew’s, was opened in
1807 ; and the third, called St. Paul’s, the hand-
somest of the whole, was opened in 1835. They
will each contain about 750 persons, and their
united congregations are much larger than that of
the Episcopal church.

The W^esleyan Methodists, who are also in con-

MONTREAI,.

113

nection with the present body in England, and under
the direction of the Conference at home, have three
churches. The principal one of these is nearly in
the centre of the city, in St. .James’s Street. It is
a very handsome building, with Doric portico, and
good exterior, while the interior is extremely elegant
and commodious. It cost about 5,000/., and will
seat a thousand persons. The other two churches
of the Wesleyans are, one in the northern section of
the City, the Quebec Suburbs ; and another in the
southern quarter, or St. Ann’s Suburbs, and all of
them have large congregations.

There is an American Presbyterian church, which
was first opened in 1826, a Baptist church, opened
in 1831, and a Congregational or Independent
church, opened in 1835, besides a Scotch Secession
church, opened in 1836, all well sustained and well
attended. '1 here is also a small synagogue for the
Jews.

It will be seen, therefore, from the dates attached
to these several churches, that of late years, increas-
ing provision has been made for Protestant worship-
pers ; and that while the Catholic population is
thought to amount to 20,000, and the Protestant
population to not more than 10,000, there is more
ample accommodation for the latter than for the
former, in the vaidous buildings that are scattered
over the City and its suburbs ; so that no Protestant
inhabitant can be distant more than a quarter of a
mile from a Protestant place of worship.

The Homan Catholic establishments of a benevo-
lent nature, are among the most ancient of the City ;
they are numerous, large, richly endowed, and well

114

CANADA.

conducted. They consist of the Seminary, tlie Col-
lege, the Petite Seminaire, and three Nunneries —
the Hotel Dieu, the Black Nunnery, and the Grey
Nunnery. By the courtesy of the Superior of the
St. Sulpicians, and the attention of one of the
brotherhood, who accompanied us on our visits, we
had the privilege of seeing each of these establish-
ments, and examining into all their details.

The most ancient is the Nunnery of the Hotel
Dieu, which was founded in 1644, by Madame de
Bouillon, for the reception and care of the sick and
diseased poor, of all nations, and of both sexes. It
is situated nearly in the centre of the city^, and
covers a large area of 468 feet by 324. The funds
by which it is sustained are derived from rents of
lands and houses, belonging to the Hotel from origi-
nal endowments, assisted occasionally by grants from
the Provincial Legislature. Nothing could exceed
the cleanliness, neatness, and comfort of the several
wards in which the sick and aged are accommodated
here ; and the Dispensary of Medicines was the
most perfect in its arrangement that I ever remember
to have seen. The Sisters, as they are called, by
whom the establishment is conducted, are in number
thirty-seven, one of whom is the Superior. They
are what are called Cloistered Nuns, never leaving
the building and the garden attached to it, but
devoting themselves entirely to religious worship,
and the care of the sick and infirm. They dress in
a black habit, with a broad collar, plain, hut of snowy
whiteness, extending over the bosom and neck, a
white frontlet covering the brow close down to the
eye-brows, and a black gauze veil thrown back over

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115

the head. The ages of those we saw, varied between
thirty and fifty. Their duties are severe, and their
diet scanty and simple. In the chapel attached to
the convent, which is richly ornamented, they have
mass celebrated every day, and offices of devotion at
three separate periods besides. From each of the
sick wards there are large windows leading into
galleries of the chapel, from whence the altar can be
seen, and the music and prayers heard, by those who
are too sick or too infirm to go to the chapel itself.
The admissions to the Hospital are limited only by
the extent of their accommodations, which will
receive about a hundred persons. Those who enter
it are supported gratuitously, and supplied with food
and medicine for as long as they may require it ; and
as soon as those who are cured leave the Hospital,
there are always others to fill their places.

The candidates for the Sisterhood are chiefly
Canadians ; but sometimes French and Irish. They
must be well recommended for piety and morals,
and undergo a probation of five years, after which,
if their conduct is approved, they are received into
the Sisterhood, and take the black veil, making, at
the same time, three vows, one of chastity, one of
poverty, and one of seclusion and devotion to the
care of the sick and infirm. Two of the Sisters are
at all times together, in each ward, day and night,
relieving each other in watches of four hours ; and
none are exempt from this duty except the Lady
Superior, whose constant superintendence during
the day furnishes her with abundant occupation.
They appear to be very happy, and are under no
physical restraint, as the gate of the Nunnery is

IIG

CANADA.

alwa)'S open in the daytime, and there is nothing to
prevent the escape of any Sister who desired it, but
no such attempt has ever been made.

The Black Nunnery, or Convent of Notre Dame,
is the next in order of date, having been founded in
1653, by Madame Marguerite Burgeois, accompa-
nied by some young ladies whom she brought with
her fi-om France, to form a seminary for female
education. This Nunnery is also in the centre of
the City, fronting the street of Notre Dame, and
covering an area of 433 feet by 234. These are
not cloistered nuns j though living in communitv,
and making vows of chastity and poverty, they are
not secluded, but go out as occasion requires, and
attend worship publicly at the cathedral^ There is
a Superior and eighty Sisters in the whole ; but not
more than forty are usually resident at the Nunnery ;
the remainder being sent to the surrounding villages
as missionaries, to superintend the education of
female children there, and usually going in pairs.
At the time of our visit (September 2nd), the pupils
had just begun to return to school from the summer
vacation j and about half the number only, or eighty,
were present. These varied between ten and eighteen
years of age ; and though chiefly Canadians, included
some from New York and other parts of the United
States. They were in general good-looking, healthy,
clean, dressed in a neat uniform of blue striped ging-
ham, with black silk aprons, and appeared cheerful
and happy. Their course of education embraces all
the usual branches of useful and ornamental instruc-
tion ; and from the specimens of music, writing,
embroidery, and other productions, that we witnessed,

MONTBE.VL.

117

we were disposed to infer that they were well
instructed. There are about one hundred and sixty
hoarders, and forty day-scholars ; and the expense
of board and tuition does not exceed 20/. sterling
per annum. The receipts from education are not
quite sufficient to sustain the establishment, as in the
villages, the Sisters teach the children of the poor
gratuitously ; hut the deficiency is made up from the
funds of the St. Sulpicians ; as this Convent has no
endowments besides the building and its accessaries.
The Sisters dress in a black habit, with a white
handkerchief surrounding the face, an apron with
dark blue and white stripes, and a black hood and
veil. In this dress they are often seen in the
streets, and at the cathedral, and hence the name
of the Black Nuns is given to them by the inhabit-
ants, from the black habit and veil of the order.

The Grey Nunnery is a larger establishment than
either of the preceding, though more recent in point
of date. It lies farther removed from the centre of
the town, towards the south, and occupies a most
agreeable situation, near the banks of the river.
The history of its foundation is thus detailed.
A Canadian lady, Madame Jourville, being left a
widow at the age of 28, though possessed of a large
patrimonial fortune, formed the determination to
retire from the world, and devote herself entirely to
the duties of religion and benevolence. She is said
to have been handsome, dignified, and accomplished ;
and to have possessed such influence among her sex,
as soon to be able to prevail on several others of her
own age, and similarly circumstanced as to fortune,
to unite their property into one common fund, to

118

CANADA,

devote this to purposes of charity, to hind themselves
hy vows to the fulfilment of their respective duties,
as superintendant and assistants of a Charitable
Asylum, and to support themselves by their own
industry. This being determined on, in I737 they
took a large house in the City, where they all resided,
and commenced their labours, with six old and des-
titute individuals, whom they took under their care.
About ten years after this, the zeal of these bene-
volent ladies having increased rather than diminished,
they undertook to incorporate with their own infant
institution, a much older and larger one that had
fallen into debt and disorder, though conducted by
some French ecclesiastics under the title of the
Freres Charrons ; and by the liberality, zeal, and
prudent management of Madame Jourville and her
exemplary Sisters, the debt was redeemed, funds were
accumulated, patients were increased, and in a short
time, accommodation, food, and medicine was fur-
nished to upwards of a hundred sick and infirm
persons.

In addition to a hospital for the diseased, it w^as
subsequently made both a Foundling and an Orphan
Asylum, and the circumstance which led to this
extension of its charities is said to have been this.
Madame Jourville was one day in the winter going
from the Hospital into the city, on a visit ; and saw
in her way, an infant abandoned by its unfeeling
parents, stuck fast in the ice, with its little hands
raised up in an imploring attitude, and a poniard
passing through its throat. It was quite dead, but
was brought by Madame Jourville to the hospital,
to show to the Sisters, and to he decently interred.

MONTREAL.

119

Seeing the new field thus opened for their benevo-
lent labours, these devoted Sisters determined to
make their house a home for orphans and destitute
children wherever found. An inscription on the
gateway of the outer court, embodies a quotation
which expresses this addition to its objects —

IIopiTAL General des Sceurs Grises
Fondce en 1755.

“ Mon Pere, et ma Mere m ont abandoniie ; mais le Seigneur
m’a recueilli.” — Ps. xxvi. 10.

It is worthy of remark that the funds of this esta-
blishment were assisted by an annual allowance made
by the French Government, which was continued to
be paid with the same punctuality after the conquest
of Canada by the English, as before ; and ceased
only with the first revolution of France, in 1794.
It had been given up as hopeless, until the restoration
of the Bourbons, in 1816; soon after which, the
memorials that were sent from hence to the French
court were successful in obtaining from the Bourbon
family, not only a resumption of the annual payment
so long enjoyed, but also the payment of all the
arrears due, with interest upon the same ; so that
very large sums were thus placed at their disposal.
These sums the Sisters have judiciously expended
in the erection of a new and spacious building in
the situation near the river before described, capable
of accommodating tw'o hundred sick and insane
persons, and of sustaining and educating three hun-
dred children.

We were received by the nuns with great courtesy
and kindness. The Lady Superior, who is Treasurer

120

CANADA.

and Manager of the Estates of the Institution, as
well as Directress of all the internal economy of the
establishment, was at her desk in the library, making
up her accounts, when we arrived ; and after a short
conversation on the object of our visit, she introduced
us to the Sisters, about a dozen of whom were occu-
pying a spacious and agreeable apartment looking
out on the St. Lawrence, with a large garden before
it, and a pleasant balcony for a promenade, commu-
nicating with the room. These were all engaged in
needlework of various kinds j but all entered cheer-
fully into conversation ; and we thought w’e had sel-
dom seen a more ruddy or healthy set of middle-
aged ladies between forty and sixty than these. All
the emblems of their faith were thickly placed around
the room ; crucifixes, pictures of saints, representa-
tions of miracles and Scriptural scenes ; but there
was nothing gloomy in their appearance or deport-
ment ; on the contrary, they were not merely serene,
but cheerful.

We were shown over every part of this establish-
ment, with as little reserve as in either of the others,
a privilege which we owed no doubt to the authority
of the Superior of the St. Sulpicians, under whose
auspices our visit was made, as well as to the influ-
ence of the reverend Brother who accompanied us.
Here the wards for the sick, the insane, the aged,
and the infirm, were all more spacious, more airy,
and better fitted with every requisite, than either of
those we had visited before j and the neatness and
cleanliness of everything we saw excited our admira-
tion. The number of the Sisters is about sixty ;
their ages vary between thirty and seventy years ,

MONTREAL.

121

their dress is a grey habit, with a neat white cap,
white apron, and silver crucifix. They are subject
to the same probation or noviciate as the Black
Nuns, and make vows of chastity, poverty, and devo-
tion to their duties, whe» they are adopted into the
order ; but not vows of solitude or separation from
the world. They observe nearly the same discipline
as the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu, watching in turns
with the sick, the aged, and the insane ; of whom
they have about a hundred and fifty under their care
at present ; and training, exercising, and instructing
the foundlings and orphans, of whom they have
nearly two hundred, from two to twelve years of age.
After this period, they find occupation both for the
boys and' girls, and generally sustain or assist them
till they are able to get their own living. They have
a pretty island, called the Nun’s Island, in the St.
Lawrence, a little above the town, which they have
had cultivated with grain, vegetables, and fruits ;
and this, with other lands and houses, yields them a
handsome revenue, which they judiciously and bene-
volently expend in works of the most disinterested
charity, to which indeed they devote all their labour
and care. The Sisters here, as well as in the other
Nunneries, occupy very small bedrooms, with the
simplest furniture, and their diet and apparel is all
of the plainest kind. They are not stimulated by
the admiration of the world, nor rewarded by the
praises of mankind ; but appear to be solely actuated
by sincerely devotional, or religious and benevolent
feelings, to the performance of their duties, for which
their only reward is an approving conscience.

The Seminary of St. Sulpice is under the direc-

122

CANADA.

tion of the Brothers of the St. Sulpicians, who are
not ecclesiastics, but what are called secular clergy,
not being priests nor yet recluses, but under vows
of celibacy and poverty, and living therefore in com-
munity of goods. Of the origin of this body, an
account has been already given in the preceding
chapter, in the sketch of the history of Montreal.
The Brothers are at present only sixteen in number,
besides the Superior, and they have some difficulty
in getting candidates for admission to their body.
They are mostly Canadians and French, with two
Irish only, and they are from thirty to sixty years of
age. They are very careful in requiring the strongest
proofs of respectability and piety in candidates for
admission, and a long probation must be undergone,
after which, if approved, they are received ; but
they must give up all claim to property, as indivi-
duals, at the time they enter, and can never after
resume it, though they are at any time at liberty to
quit the “ House,” as they call it, and join the
world ; but none have yet done so.

The property of this body is very considerable, in
their corporate capacity. They are Seigneurs, or
Lords of the Manor, of the whole island of Mont-
real, and as such, are entitled to all the feudal
rights and privileges of this extensive Seigneury.
By the old feudal law of France, the King was Lord
or Seigneur of all the landed property of the crown
in his dominions, and had the power to grant or
transfer to others, for military, ecclesiastical, or other
purposes, such portions of these Seignorial rights as
he thought proper, on condition of his receiving the
quint or one-fifth of the purchase-money, whenever

MONTREAL.

123

such lands were transferred to others by gift or sale ;
but if the purchaser paid immediately, he was
entitled to the rabat, or a reduction of two-thirds of
the quint, by way of discount, making it therefore
one-fifteenth instead of one-fifth of the amount.
When individuals, however, or corporate bodies hold
these fiefs of the original feudal lord, the King, (as
is the case with the Seminary of St. Sulpice, to
whom the Seigneury was granted by the King of
France, before the conquest of Canada by the British,
and their rights were then confirmed, by the treaty
of capitulation,) the holders in fief are lawfully
entitled to one-twelfth of the purchase-money of
every estate sold or transferred by those living within
their Seigneury, under the name of lods et ventes.
This privilege, though it brings in a considerable
revenue to the Seminary, is undoubtedly a great
obstacle to the sale, transfer, or improvement of pro-
perty ; and all the English inhabitants and proprietors
of land and houses here, are most anxious to have
this feudal tenure abolished, and some more reason-
able principle and practice substituted in its stead.
If a person, for instance, purchases an estate worth
12,000^., the large amount of 1,000/. must be paid
to the Seigneur, as lods et ventes. But should such
an estate be so improved by the sole expense of the
first purchaser, as to be worth 60,000/., if he desires
to sell it again, and obtains that sum for it, 5,000/.
must be paid to the Seigneur on the second sale, and
so on at every subsequent transfer ; so that this tax
operates as a direct hindrance to expenditure and
improvement, as well as to the sale or transfer of all
landed property.

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CANADA.

It is thought by the ablest lawyers here, that the
St. Sulpicians have not the means of establishing a
strictly legal title to their Seignorial rights, as suc-
cessors of the first holders, to whom the King of
France granted them, from defects in their line of
succession ; and, it is added, that on all occasions,
the Brothers of the Order have shrunk from having
the question raised in a court of law. But the
Governor-General, Lord Sydenham, has, in the
exercise of the almost supreme power with which
he is clothed, issued an Ordinance, giving them this
legal right, and confirming them in the full posses-
sion of all that they claim, which has given groat
dissatisfaction to those who had hoped to have seen
this tenure abolished, or modified, or compromised,
in some way or other, for the future. The Ordin-
ance will require, it is thought, the confirmation of
an act of the Imperial Legislature to make it bind-
ing, or it may be referred to the Local Legislature
in the new Parliament of the United Provinces of
the Canadas to do this ; hut in the mean while the
rights continue to be exercised freely and fully as
heretofore.

The use made of the funds thus obtained, appears
to be unobjectionable. They are chiefly devoted to
the education of youth, to the care of the sick, to
the assistance of the Nunneries when needed, and
to the support of religious worship in the city, and
in the country parishes. The Seminary is a large,
ancient, and plain building, near the centre of the
city, covering, with its spacious gardens and grounds,
an area of 444 feet by 342, the edifice itself forming
three sides of a square 132 feet in length for the

MONTREAL.

125

central pile, and 90 feet in depth for each of its
wings. It has attached to it, a School for pupils of
the younger class, of which there are upwards of 300
under tuition ; and several branch Schools of the
same establishment, are conducted by them in other
parts of the city and parish. The College for the
education of the higher class of pupils, is near the
Grey Nunnery, in the llecollet Suburbs. It has
been recently erected at a cost of upwards of 10,000/.
It is a substantial and well-arranged building, form-
ing three sides of a square, the centre pile being
210 feet by 45, and the two side wings 186 feet by
45 each. There are spacious play-grounds for the
students, and ample and comfortable accommodation
for 160 boarders in the building, and class-rooms
for the education of that number, and 140 non-
resident or day scholars, or 300 in all. The students
enter at ten years of age, and continue till eighteen.
The St. Sulpician Brothers are the principal, though
not the only instructors, as they have professors
from among the ecclesiastics also, so that altogether
there are about twenty head-teacbers, and several
subordinates. The number of pupils at present
exceeds 200 ; and the cost of board and education,
in all its branches, does not exceed 30/. a year.

I found it difficult to ascertain the exact revenue of
the Seminary, from its Seignorial rights, having
heard it estimated by some at 10,000/., by others at
20,000/., and by others at intermediate sums, per
annum. All that is known with certainty is this :
that they have refused to accept a fixed annual
income of 6,000/. a year, which was ofiered to be
guaranteed to them for the abandonment of the

126

CANADA.

feudal tenure as far as their own body is concerned,
and if the Government Ordinance should be con-
firmed by legal authority, it is thought they would
not accept 20,000^. a year for their revenue.

In addition to the objection made to this system,
as retarding the improvement of property, the Pro-
testant part of the population feel aggrieved at seeing
the wealth thus produced, appropriated to the sup-
port and propagation of the Catholic religion 5 hut
as the Clergy Reserves, (from unappropriated waste
lands, of which there are millions of acres in
Canada,) appropriated by law to the support of the
English and Scotch churches, and likely to be par-
ticipated in also by Protestant Dissenting bodies, is
a much more ample fund than the Seigneury of
Montreal, it may naturally be expected that the
Catholics, seeing this, will think their Protestant
brethren a little unreasonable to complain of the
appropriation of the smaller resources to the propa-
gation of the more ancient faith of the conquered
race, while the larger fund is entirely in their hands
to uphold the more modern faith of the conquerors.

There is a School for the education of children,
without distinction of religious faith, called The
British and Canadian School. It was first estab-
lished in 1822, and meant for the education of the
children of the labouring classes gratuitously, as
well as to train teachers for country schools. This
was first conducted in a hired building; but the
success attending it led to the contribution of suffi-
cient funds, by voluntary subscription, to build a
good school-house, sufficient to accommodate about
400 hoys, and 250 girls, with a residence for the

MONTREAL.

hr/

head-master. The building was purchased in 1836 ,
and at the present time it contains about 200 boys,
and 100 girls, taught in separate apartments, and
all gratuitously ; and among them the proportions
are 150 Catholics, 75 Presbyterians, 40 Episcopa-
lians, and 35 Methodists. The building cost about
1 , 500 /. ; and this, and the sum required to cover the
annual expenditure, has been raised by voluntary
contributions from all classes. If such schools as
these can be multiplied throughout the country, and
well sustained, they will have the most beneficial
effect, in destroying those prejudices of race and
religion which now unhappily keep each aloof from
the other, and make the rising generation much
more liberal towards each other, when they come to
act together in future life, than their parents are at
present. On this ground alone, therefore, independ-
ently of their general benefit as promoting education,
they deserve especial encouragement.

There is a Protestant National School, conducted
under the patronage of the Society for the Promotion
of Christian Knowledge, which was founded in
1816 , and gives free education to about 150 boys
and 100 girls; of whom nearly one-fourth are of
French families and three-fourths of English ; all
who subscribe ten shillings a year to the funds of
this school, are entitled to exercise the right of
visitors.

For the higher branches of education there is now
an institution, called the University of McGill Col-
lege, after an eminent merchant of Montreal, who,
in 1814 , left by will, the estate of Burnside, on the
Mountain near the city ; and the sum of 10,000/.

12S

CANADA.

in money, to establish it. The will being contested,
it was not until 1821 that the decision was made in
favour of its validity, and then the College was
incorporated; the Governors, Judges, and Bishops
of Canada for the time being, being appointed ex-
officio the Directors of the Institution. In 1823,
the Professors were appointed; one of Divinity,
from Cambridge ; one of Moral Philosophy and the
Classics, from Oxford ; one of History and Civil
Law, from Aberdeen ; one of Mathematics and
Natural History, from Oxford ; and one of Medi-
cine and Surgery, from Edinburgh. Though all
the first Professors have been thus taken from the
British Universities, it is intended to give the prefe-
rence in future appointments to those who may have
graduated at the College itself. There is no reli-
gious test, either for the professors or the students ;
and the course of instruction is intended to embrace
all the studies usually pursued in the Universities at
home.

There are now, therefore, ample means at the
command of the community of Montreal, for the
education of the Catholic and Protestant youth of the
City ; and if these means are rightly administered
and applied, no portion of the children of either
class need be deprived of the benefits of instruction.

CHAP. X.

Municipal government — Municipal edifices — Court House

Barracks— Gowrnment House— Custom House-Commerce
of Montreal Tonnage of Shipping — Imports and Exports
ot the City— Increase of population — Hotels -Theatre-
Newspapers of Montreal— Instance of illiberality towards
Catholics— Injustice towards America and the Americans—
Example of unjustifiable imputations — Books — American
repnnts of English works— Ship-building and rope-makinc
establishments. ®

The Municipal Government of Montreal is in the
hands of a mayor and aldermen, which, before the
suspension of the constitution, at the time of the late
rebellion, was an elective body, and is intended to be
so again, when the new act for uniting the two Pro-
vinces of Canada into one shall come into operation ;
but at present the mayor and aldermen are appointed
by the Governor-General for a certain period.

Of the civic and municipal buildings the Court
House is the principal. It occupies a favourable
position in Notre Dame Street, is built of the grey
limestone of the country, and was erected in 1800 ,
at a cost of 5 , 000 /. It has an open space of lawn
and trees before it j and is one of the best ornaments
of the town.

Near it is a large building, formerly occupied as
the old Jail, but now used as a barrack for the sol-

130

CANADA.

dicrs doin^ duty in tli6 city. A new Juil hss since
been erected in the Quebec Suburbs near the river,
at a cost of about 30,000/. The building extends
over a frontage of 255 feet, and a depth of 85, and
with the courts and grounds covers about five acres
of space. In it, debtors as well as criminals are
confined, though in separate apartments ; and there
are 35 rooms for debtors and 150 cells for criminals,
in the whole. No occupation is furnished to either,
and no system of prison discipline, beyond ensuring
safe custody, is observed ; so that the moral improve-
ment of the prisoners is in no way provided for, nor
is there even a school, or a chaplain attached to the
establishment. It seems appropriately placed between
two large distilleries, the manufactories of that liquid
poison, which makes the greatest number of debtors
and criminals too, and is overlooked by the barracks
of the soldiers, whose services are often rendered
more necessary to suppress riots and insurrections
from the di'inking that demoralizes men, and makes
them dishonest, disorderly, and disloyal, in turns.

The Government House, which was formerly an
establishment of the North-west Fur Traders in the
city, is small and ill adapted for its purpose ; it is,
therefore, not used as the residence of the Governor,
who occupies temporarily, a private house fitted up
for his use ; hut should the seat of government for
the United Province be fixed here, appropriate
buildings will no doubt be erected, superior to any
that are now existing.

The new Court House may be numbered among
the best of the public buildings of the City, for the
good taste of the design, and the neatness of the

MONTREAL.

131

execution. It stands near the river, and in front
of it is now constructing an admirable range of road
or quay, supported by a solid wall of mason °y towards
the water, extending already nearly a mile, and
intended to go the whole length of the port ; there
is nothing finer than this, of its kind, in the Colony.
The harbour or dock for the reception of vessels
alongside the wharfs, though not spacious, is com-
modious, and suflScient for the number of ships that
require to make use of it.

The commerce of Montreal is not so extensive, as
its admirable position would lead one to expect, or
as it must in time become, though it has been
steadily productive to those engaged in it. It
stands at the head of the ship-navigation of the
St. Lawrence : for beyond this, upwards, the various
Rapids of the stream render it impossible for ships or
even steamboats to proceed ; and hence land-jour-
neys over the space rendered unnavigable by these
Rapids are obliged to be performed by passengers
who ascend or descend in the varied steamboats that
run in the intervals of smooth water between them.
All the exportations from Upper Canada are there-
fore first shipped at Montreal ; and all importations
for the consumption of Upper Canada are also first
landed here. Montreal enjoys also the most favour-
able position for intercourse with the United States,
as well as for foreign trade ; for, by a steamboat
from her wharfs, the traveller is taken in an hour to
La Prairie, on the opposite side of the river, from
whence a railroad of fourteen miles conveys him to
St. John’s, near the head of Lake Champlain, on the
borders of the United States, in another hour; and

K 2

182

CANADA.

from thence he has steamboat and railroad convey-
ance all the way through Lake Champlain and Lake
George to Saratoga and Albany, and thence by the
Hudson to New York, which city he may reach from
Montreal in two days. Add to this, that the canal
of La Chine cuts off the Rapids of the St. Lawrence,
enabling large cai’go boats to ascend to the Ottawa ;
that from thence the Rideau canal opens a passage
into the St. Lawrence at Kingston, from whence
navigation is open and easy to Lake Ontario, and
thence by the Welland Canal into Lakes Erie, Hud-
son, and Michigan ; and it must appear, to the least
sanguine observer, that an inexhaustible field of
commercial enterprise is thus accessible from this
City.

Some conception may be formed of the actual
commerce of Montreal, by a statement of its tonnage
and imports, which is thus collected from the Cus-
tom House books. The entries of vessels inwards

was —

In 1832 .

1833 .

1834 .

1835 .

. 27,713 tons
. 30,864
. 20,105
. 22,729

In 1836 .

1837 .

1838 .

1839 .

. 22,133 tons
. 22,668
. 15,750
. 16,829

The cause of the dimunition in the last two years,
was the late rebellion, which, destroying confidence,
and indisposing merchants to risk their property,
naturally led to their abstaining from trade with the
Colony to the same extent as before. But already
the progress of revival has begun.

The amount of the imports annually have varied
between a million and half and two millions sterling,
according to the Custom House returns ; but in

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133

addition to this, a large amount of smuggled trade
is carried on between Canada and the United States,
of which, of course, no returns can be had. Of
exports, the quantities only are given, and the fol-
lowing are among the principal articles and quan-
tities of each, for an average of the years from 1835
to 1839, both inclusive —

Pine timber . 1,836 tons
Elm do. . . 875 tons

Oak do. . . 764 tons

Deals . . 35,422

Handspikes . 6,748

Staves . . 468,935

Wheat . . 52,876 minots

Flour . . 25,607 barrels

Pork . . 1,231 barrels

Potashes . 16,543 barrels
Pearlashes . 6,487 barrels

Oilcake . 1,293 pieces

The fur-trade, which was formerly carried on so
extensively by the North-West Company, up the
Ottawa river and its tributaries, by the Canadian
voyagers, is now in the hands of the Hudson’s Bay
Company, with which the interests of the former
have been merged, and they have their principal
depots elsewhere. The large, rafts of timber that
come down the Ottawa, float by the island of Mont-
real, by the back channel behind the island, in
large numbers every day ; and during our stay here,
we saw from thirty to forty large rafts from the
St. Lawrence go by in front of the island daily to
Quebec. Some of these are so large as to be worth
5,000/., and it is deemed a small one which is not
worth 1,000/. They float down chiefly by the force
of the current, and go over all the Rapids with
safety ; but they are also assisted occasionally by
several small square sails, spread on low masts at

134

CANADA

different parts of the raft ; and the only shelter or
accommodation for the men, are two or three little
huts which they erect on the timbers themselves.

Opposite to the City are two pretty islands, one
called the Nun’s Island, low, fertile, and woody,
belonging to the Grey Nuns, and cultivated with
wheat, for their benefit ; another, the Island of St.
Helen’s, high and well-wooded, but used only for
the fort and barracks which it contains, to defend
the entrance to the harbour.

The importation of wheat from the United States
into Canada, has much increased of late years, as
the growers in the former country send their wheat
over here, where it is ground in Canadian mills ; and
then, being of the manufacture of the Colony, it
may be sent to England as Canadian flour, and im-
ported at a duty of fourpence only per barrel, while
the same article could not be sent direct from New
York to England, owing to the existing restrictions
of the British corn-laws.*

The population of the City is undoubtedly on the
increase ; but from some neglect or omission, no

* Since this was written, a change has taken place, somewhat for
the better, as Canadian wheat and flour is to be henceforward
imported duty-free into England, while American wheat may be
imported into Canada at a duty of 3s. per quarter, so that all the
wheat grown in Canada will be sent to England, and all the
wheat eaten in Canada will come from the United States. Tiiis
is, no doubt, a step in advance towards free-trade, and so far
valuable ; but how much better would it be to permit a direct
importation from the United States to England, as well as from
Canada, instead of this circuitous and round-about trade !

MONTREAL.

135

very late census has been taken. The statement
deemed most authentic, makes its numbers in the
years mentioned, as follows —

In 1800 it was 9,000 I In 1831 it was 28,000

1825 22,000 I 1840 40,000

There are two good markets in Montreal, and
several hotels. Rasco’s, at which we lived, was by
most persons considered the best ; and having the
reputation of being the most fashionable, it was the
most frequented ; but though it had good rooms,
they were but ill furnished with the requisites for
comfortable dormitories ; and the table was the
worst supplied, and the servants the most inattentive
of any we had yet met with in Canada. It was infe-
rior, indeed, in both these important features, to
most of the hotels of similar scale and pretensions in
the United States.

There is a large theatre in Montreal, which is
well supported in the season in which it is open ;
and of late it has been made unusually attractive by
the performance of operas, in which Mr. and Mrs.
Seguin from England have performed the principal
parts. Mr. Seguin himself has been recently
adopted as a Chief of the Huron tribe of Indians,
at the village of Lorette, near Quebec, with all the
ceremonies usual on the election of a native chief ;
he being dressed in the Indian costume, his body
and face painted, and the war-dance performed
around him by the Indians of the tribe. The
reason assigned for this adoption of Mr. Seguin into
their nation, was that his father had rendered some
services and shown some kindness to members of the

136

CANADA.

tribe in England ; and gratitude for these favours
induced them thus to honour his son.

Of newspapers, there are two daily morning
papers, the Herald and the Courier ; two published
thrice a week, the Gazette, and the Transcript ;
besides a French paper, called L’Aurore de Canada;
a religious newspaper, published once a fortnight,
called the Wesleyan ; and the Canadian Temperance
Advocate, published monthly. These are all con-
ducted with as much talent as provincial papers in
England ; and with the courtesy of gentlemen
towards each other. During the late troubles there
were wider differences of opinion amongst them than
at present ; as all seem now disposed to exercise reci-
procal forgiveness and conciliation, and urge upon
their readers the duty of giving the Union a fair
trial, by recommending all parties to unite in up-
holding the authority of the laws. There is still,
however, a strong feeling manifested by some of them
against the Catholics, and this expressed in language
which cannot fail to wound the feelings of this large
and influential class of their fellow-subjects, without
effecting the object which the writers seem to have
in view. An ordinance having been recently issued
by the Governor-General and Council, confirming
the St. Sulpicians in the possession of the Seigneury
of Montreal, which their Order had held from the
first foundation of the City to its conquest hy the
British, and which was then guaranteed to them by
the articles of capitulation, — the following article on
the subject appeared in the Montreal Herald, of
Sept. 3d, 1840 —

MONTREAL.

137

On the ground of education, we do not see any reason why
the Seminary should be invested with such extravagant wealth,
but many why it should not.

“In the first place, it is an unjust preference of a foreign
priesthood, to men of British birth or descent. What possible
claim can be urged in favour of them, that cannot be urged in
favour of our own people ? Are they more learned, more zealous,
more pious, than Roman Catholics and Protestants from the
British Isles? Have they shown themselves, by their conduct
for the last fifty years, the supporters of education, even with
the very means which they profess to have received for purposes
of education ? Have they ever come before the public, openly
and honestly, as most men with their pretences would have done,
and shown what has become of the revenues, which they actually
have collected, from their first coming into the country, for the
express purpose of spreading education? Have they ever attempted
to show the amount of education bestowed by their means, or
a schedule of the proposed increase of their schools ? No !
never !

“ And yet these are the persons, aliens in fact to our country,
and aliens by their vows to all the common feelings of humanity,
to whom this atrocious act makes a yearly present of such vast
wealth. Let the darkened state of this Province be considered,
and we hesitate not to assert, that, supposing their title to the
property they claim, to be good and valid, an inquiry ought to
be made, to ascertain how far they have fulfilled the conditions
expressed in it. For these men to be picked out by the govern-
ment as recipients of the enormous income, of not less than
£30,000, is an outrage upon the common sense of the country ;
and that too without accountability to the power that grants it.

“ If, with the income they already enjoy, they have been able,
as has been affirmed again and again, to send thousands of pounds
into foreign countries, will the disposition or the opportunity be
less to do so systematically, when they are literally wallowing in
riches ? We suspect not, else all human nature is a falsehood.

“ If a junto of foreigners are of more importance to us, socially
and politically, than the State itself, then the State, if it has the
power, does well to yield up its rights and interests, in the train-

138

CANADA.

ing of the young generation, to that junto. But, according to
the principles of our government, no such abdication can take
place, without the consent of the people, and that consent will
never be given.

The Ordinance, in truth, creates a dominant church of the
worst description, because it is not open to public opinion, and
is concentrated in the persons of a few natural-born aliens. Were
its numbers more extensive, its members British sulyects, and
its acts open to public view and public investigation, as all other
churches are, we should have some hope for the liberties of the
country. But as the case stands, we confess our fears, and warn
the public accordingly.

** It is the only dominant church in the English portion of
America, and will receive, unless the Ordinance is abrogated,
equal to one-third part of all the public revenue raised in the
country, in which it has been established.

“ These are hints worthy of being thought over by Electors in
making a choice of Representatives ; and to the Electors in Upper
Canada, where the battle against only a semblance of a dominant
church has been fought and won, we are convinced they will
prove of value.”

There is one point on which nearly all the British
Canadians appear to agree, and that is, in abuse of the
Americans, towards whom, the feeling of hatred and
contempt seems to be universal, and to be expressed
on all available occasions. On this subject, I found
myself almost every day engaged in a contention with
some one or other, and never of my own seeking ;
but the harsh and undeserved manner in which the
British Canadians utter their sweeping censures on
the American nation generally, for acts committed
only by a few desperate and reckless individuals on
the frontier, was such as I could never permit to
pass in silence. I was often indeed accused of want of
patriotism or national attachment, for not joining in

MONTREAL.

130

these contemptuous censures ; and incurred the risk
of losing all my personal popularity by taking this
course. But though we had seen, during our
three-years’ sojourn in the United States, many
things to condemn, and I have made no scruple to
express that condemnation wherever felt ; yet we saw
also many things to admire, and these I have not failed
to praise. But the Canadians will see no virtue or
excellence in the whole nation, and hurl their ana-
themas against all those who do ; so that, as I often
told those whom I heard thus engaged, we had heard
more abuse of America and the Americans from the
mouths of British Canadians in a few weeks, than
we had heard of England or the English in the United
States during as many years. Scarcely a day passed
in which there were not articles in the Montreal
papers, attributing the incendiary fires upon the
frontiers to the “miscreant Americans,” as they called
them. I ventured to suggest, that in their ignorance
of the real perpetrators of these crimes, they ought
not, without evidence, to fix the stigma of them on
the people of another nation, when they might be
committed by persons of our own. But my observa-
tions were usually resented with indignation, and
I was more than once told that it was unworthy of
me, as an Englishman, to admit the existence of
any good qualities among such a people as the
Americans !— the extent of my dissent from the
Canadian censures being this only-^that where the
perpetrators of an act or acts are unknown, and
where, in contiguous nations thei*e are found
reckless and desperate characters in each, we ought
not to impute the commission of such acts to the

CANADA.

liO

people of one nation rather than another, but wait
till evidence should fix the guilty and absolve the
innocent. At length, after several weeks of abuse
and vituperation poured out on the Americans, as
being the incendiaries, and as aiding and abetting
all such nefarious practices, the following article
appeared in the leading paper of Montreal, the
Courier, of September 3rd, 1840 —

‘^The Late Fires. — Through the active exertions and vigi-
lance of the police, under the direction of the chief commissioner,
the most searching investigations have been prosecuted into the
origin and circumstances of the late fires. The fires at Chambly,
it has been ascertained, were clearly incendiary, but it has been
satisfactorily proved that the perpetrators did not come from
the American side. They consisted of two or three loose women,
and a male companion of their’s, whom Messrs. Mignault and
De Salaberry, in the discharge of their magisterial duties, had
committed to prison upon more than one occasion. These mis-
creants revenged themselves for the punishment which the law
rewarded to their offences, by destroying the property of the
committing magistrates. The women are in custody, and the
participation of the whole in the crimes alleged against them,
stands upon the confession of one, amply corroborated by facts
and circumstantial testimony. The police, we understand, are
close upon the track of the man, with very little doubt of being
able to secure him before long.

“ There need but few remarks upon these facts. The duty of
the community is clear, viz., to uphold the laws and all who
administer them to the utmost of their power, and to testify
unequivocally their approbation of prompt and well-directed
exertions for the apprehension of offenders. In all communities,
there is a depraved tendency to crime, which can only be arrested
by the fear of punishment, and that fear is always commensurate
with the probabilities of detection. A vigorous execution of the
laws is the only means of checking the growth of crime. The
magistrates whose private property has suffered from the dis-

MONTREAL.

141

cliarge of their public duties, must not be allowed to remain the
sufferers. The loss must be made up to them, either by a levy
on the district, or by funds at the disposal of the government.
No men will undertake the responsible and troublesome office of
magistrates, if they are not to be protected from the vengeance
of the criminals whom they may be compelled to punish.”

But though the newspapers of the City had, for
weeks before, teemed with the most unjust accusa-
tions of the Americans, as the authors, “the un-
doubted authors,” as they said, of all these incendiary
fires, I did not observe a single expression of regret
in any of them, at having been mistaken or misin-
formed, nor the slightest offer of reparation for the
unfounded imputations previously made. No wonder,
therefore, that such ungenerous conduct as this
should lead to retaliation on the other side, as far as
the expression of sentiments in newspapers is con-
cerned, and thus a war of words leads often to a
war of deeds ; a little spark of ill-will gets fanned
by alternate blasts from either side, while new
supplies of fuel from both, causes the whole to
hurst out into a flame, which it is more easy to kin-
dle than it is to extinguish.

The hooks chiefly met with in the book-stores
of Montreal, are American reprints of English
works, which, though imported at a duty of 30 per
cent., when passed through the Custom House here,
can he sold at about half the price of the English
editions ; and when smuggled across, as is often the
case, and the duty of 30 per cent, evaded, they can
of course be sold at so much less. The consequence
is, that few English editions are sold of any work,
of which the Americans make a reprint ; as these,

142

CANADA.

having nothing to pay the authors for copyright,
can furnish them so much cheaper than an English
publisher could do.* A very few books are published
originally in Canada, such as school-books, local

* Here is another instance in which the British have no scruple
in doing themselves what they condemn the Americans for doing.
For years past, the press of England has contained articles con-
demning the Americans for pirating English works, and reprint-
ing them, without any regard to the interests of the English
author or publisher. Yet, in England, American books, when
thought likely to pay as a speculation, are continually reprinted
in the same manner, and sold at a cheap rate, of which there is
a striking example while these sheets are going through the press.
Mrs. Sigourney’s “ Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands,” origi-
nally published at 6s., is reprinted and sold by an English bookseller
at Is. 6d. ; and every Canadian bookseller, as opportunity serves,
will purchase American reprints of English books, in preference
to the genuine English copies, because they are cheaper, without
the least regard to the interests of the English author or pub-
lisher. The true remedy for this is undoubtedly an international
law of copy- right ; but while English booksellers pirate from the
Americans whenever it suits their purpose, it is hardly fair to
heap odium on American booksellers for doing the same thing
with English works ; and as to the use of smuggled goods
instead of lawful duty-paid articles, while the East India Com-
pany is sanctioned by the British government in deriving two
millions a year from the growth of opium, to smuggle into China,
while the Parliament of England sanctions a war to avenge the
seizure of the smuggled article, and make the Chinese pay millions
of dollars for compensation to the smugglers, and the ransom of
their towns from plunder and destruction — the Chinese sycee
silver just going into the Royal Mint of England while this note
is penned — it is idle for us to condemn other nations for pirating
and smuggling our books. We literally “ strain at a gnat and
swallow a camel,” and should set about ‘‘putting our own house
in order,” before we say any more on the sins of other people.

MONTREAL.

143

histories, and works for which the demand is likely
to be large in the Province ; and these are quite as
well executed as they would be in any part of the
United States.

There is a large Shipbuilding Yard at Montreal,
which was commenced in 1806, and the business of
shipbuilding here went on increasing till 1825, when
the number launched from it was 6l. From that
time onward till 1828, the numbers diminished
gradually to 30; and in 1831, there were only 9
finished. Since then, the establishment has been
in other hands, and steamboats have been the prin-
cipal vessels built here; but these are all greatly
inferior in beauty of form, as well as internal accom-
modation, to the American steamers.

A large Rope Walk was established in 1825, and
is now in full operation. The walk is 1,200 feet
long, and two and three stories in height. A steam-
engine has lately been erected, to propel the wheels
of a new set of patent machinery for making blocks
as well as ropes ; and all kinds of cordage is now
made here in perfection. The hemp used is entirely
Russian, though the soil and climate of Canada is
well adapted to the growth of this article ; and with
due encouragement from the government, through
the first few years of the experiment, it is thought
that all the hemp required for the Province, and for
all the British shipping frequenting it, might be
easily raised in Canada itself.

CHAP. XI.

Monument to Lord Nelson— The Champ de Mars Hospital-
Orphan Asylum— Ladies’ Benevolent Society— Sunday Schools
Bible and Tract Associations — Home Missionaries for con-
verting the Canadian habitans— Natural History Society-
Museum and Library— Gas Works and Water Works— City
Police Force— Indian Females in the Streets — General Society
of Montreal — Licentiousness of the Military — Temperance
Excursion on the River St. Lawrence — Visit to Canadian
Villages — Force of the current in the Pass of St. Mary —
Landing of the Temperance Party at the Wharf— Contrast
between this and Pleasure Excursions in general — Visit to the
summit of Mount Royal— Splendour and beauty of the View.

The only remarkable public monument in Montreal,
is a Doric column at the head of the New Market,
erected in honour of Lord Nelson, whose statue is
placed on its summit, being a colossal figure of eight
feet high. The shaft of the column is five feet in
diameter, and the height of the whole monument,
including the pedestal and colossal figure at the top,
is about seventy feet ; and as it stands on nearly the
highest ground of the City, it is one of the principal
ornaments of the town. It was erected in 1809 by
private subscription among the British inhabitants of
Montreal, at a cost of about 1,300/. On each side
of the pedestal, is a pictorial representation, in alto-
relievo, of one of the principal events of Lord
Nelson^s life : that on the north, represents the
Battle of the Nile in 1798 ; that on the east, the

MONTREAL. 145

interview between Lord Nelson and the Prince
Regent of Denmark, after the Battle of Copenhagen
in 1801 ; and that on the south, represents the
Battle of Trafalgar, in which the hero received his
death-wound ; while on the w'est, which is the front
of the monument, is an emblematical composition, in
which, a crocodile of the Nile, and naval trophies,
are the most prominent objects ; and within a circu-
lar frame of laurel wreath is contained the inscrip-
tion.

The Champ de Mars is a very limited field for so
imposing a name, its dimensions being 681 feet by
842. It is lined with a formal row of Lombardy
poplars on each side, is nearly in the middle of the
town, and serves the double purpose of a parade
ground for the exercise and drill of troops, and a
promenade for the inhabitants.

Among the Benevolent Institutions established by
the Protestants in this City, there are several that
do them great honour. One of the principal of
these is the General Hospital. The increase of
emigration bringing a large number of poor and
destitute persons into Canada from England, and
the Catholic hospitals in the Nunneries being inade-
quate to accommodate the increased number of sick
persons, a Ladies’ Benevolent Society was formed by
the Protestant families of the City, for the purpose
of aflfording relief to such individuals. By their
benevolent efforts, which equalled those of the
Catholic ladies who had preceded them in this
“ labour of love,” they obtained, by private subscrip-
tion, a sufficient sum to hire a house, which was
devoted to the purposes of a hospital, and called the

146

CANADA.

House of Recovery. This was accomplished in
1818, but the success of their labours required a
much larger house in 1819 ; and in 1821, they had
made such progress in the acquisition of funds, by
public and private appeals to the benevolent in every
way, that they were enabled to lay the foundation of
a much larger building, the present General Hopital
of Montreal, which was completed and opened for
patients in 1822. A still further addition was made
to it, by the munificent donation of a wealthy mer-
chant of Montreal, Mr. John Richardson, so that it
is now amply supplied with every requisite. In the
first year of its operations, 1822 to 1828, it admitted
421 in-door patients, and gave medical attendance
and relief to 397 out-door patients; and in 1824,
there had been received 47 O in-door patients, while
364 of the former had been relieved ; and of both of
these there were about an equal number of Catholics
and Protestants. The Institution is supported partly
by donations, a certain amount of which, 25/., con-
stitutes a Governor ; partly by annual subscriptions
of 31 , and under ; and partly by grants from the
Provincial Legislature. There are eight medical
officers who visit the hospital once a day, and give
their services gratuitously ; besides the house-surgeon,
physician, apothecary, clerks, nurses, and attend'ants,
all of whom are paid by salaries ; and everything
connected with the management and condition of
the Institution appears to be in excellent order.

There is a Protestant Orphan Asylum, which was
established in 1822, and is conducted entirely by
Ladies, each Subscriber of 25s. annually, bein^ eli-
gible to serve on the Committee. The chifdren

MONTREAL. 14y

taken in here are educated in the doctrines of the
Church of England, and attend school till they are
nine years of age, when the hoys are apprenticed to
some trade, and the girls provided with situations in
shops or houses. The average income of the Insti-
tution from donations and subscriptions is about 300 /.
a year ; and since its first establishment up to the
present time more than 300 orphans have been pro-
vided for, most of whom are now comfortably and
respe’ctably situated.

Another valuable Institution of a similar nature,
but extending its provision to widows as well as
orphans, was established here in 1832 , under the
title of the Ladies’ Benevolent Society. It is sup-
ported like the former, by donations and voluntary
subscriptions, and its annual income exceeds 6001. a
year. In the eight years of its existence it has
received only one grant of 500 /. in aid of its funds
from the Provincial Legislature, while relief has
been extended within that period to about 800 per-
sons within its walls, and to 500 persons without
them ; about 100 children have been placed in advan-
tageous situations, and more than 300 have been
restored to their friends.

The Sunday Schools of the Protestant Churches,
include upwards of a thousand pupils, and many of
the most respectable inhabitants give their gratuitous
services as superintendants or teachers. There is a
Bible Society, and a Young Men’s Tract Society,
for the circulation of religious books. There is “a
Baptist Missionary Society for propagating the gospel
in the more remote sections of Canada, and a French
Canadian Society for spreading the Protestant reli-

148

CANADA.

gion by Missionaries through the Catholic villages
of the French peasantry, or habitans as they are
called, so that no pains are spared to promote
Christian piety ; while the Temperance Society of
Montreal, formed on the principles of total abstinence
from the use of all intoxicating drinks, is an admira-
ble auxiliary to all these benevolent and religious
associations, by promoting the public health and
morals. This Society has upwards of 1,200 pledged
members in its ranks ; and through the zeal* and
liberality of some of the wealthiest merchants of the
City, who furnish the funds for such purpose, frequent
meetings are held, tracts circulated, and families
visited for the purpose of reclaiming the intemperate,
and spreading the principles, pi’ecepts, and examples
of temperanee wherever they can obtain access.

A Mechanics’ Institute was established in 1828,
and was for some time w'ell sustained, until the late
rebellion, which disturbed everything, caused a
great falling off in its members. Since the restora-
tion of tranquillity, it has again revived, and is now
in full course of operation, with its regular meetings,
lectures, and library, and increasing numbers of
associates and visitors.

For the higher classes, there is an Institution
called the Natural History Society of Montreal,
whieh was founded about the same time ; and having
directed its attention chiefly to the collection of
specimens in natural history, for their Museum,
and to the formation of a Library of scientific works,
they have already accumulated a very valuable store
of both. In 1832, the Society was incorporated by
an act of the Provincial Legislature, and they have

MONTREAL.

H<)

now a good building of their own, with suitable
rooms for all their purposes, a collection of native
and foreign birds, reptiles, and insects, the first
of which is deemed the finest in the country, some
few quadrupeds, a number of shells and plants, and
about 2,000 specimens of minerals ; so that in a few
years hence, with donations to its collection increas-
ing as they do every year, this Museum will take
a high rank for its extent and utility.

Though the streets of Montreal are not yet lighted
with gas, the principal shops are supplied with all
the light they require, from the Gas Works estab-
lished in 1837, 3. place called the Cross, about a

mile from the City. The expense of these Works
was about 20,000^, and they have now the means
of furnishing the whole town ; but want of funds is
the only reason alleged for the delay in applying gas
instead of oil to the lighting of the streets.

The supply of the City with water is ample and
cheap. It is effected by means of a steam-engine,
by which the water is raised from the river St. Law-
rence, and propelled up into two large reservoirs,
within a spacious building in Notre Dame Street,
the highest central ground of the town. From these
reservoirs, which contain 250,000 gallons, the water
is conveyed by iron pipes to all the houses paying
for it, the conduits now extending altogether over
15 miles, and the Works having cost about 80,000f.
The water of the St. Lawrence affects most strangers
disagreeably, operating as a powerful aperient ; but
its effects are neutralized by boiling the water before
using it ; and if care be taken to use it chiefly in
tea, coffee, or soup, and not to drink it alone, for

150

CANADA.

some time, the system becomes ultimately accustomed
to it, and its former effects arc no longer felt, so
that the old resident inhabitants drink it without
inconvenience. To emigrants it is often recom-
mended to use brandy or whisky in it, and they are
in general but too glad to avail themselves of such
an excuse. But this is wholly unnecessary, and is
only resorting to a greater evil in order to avoid a
less. The precaution of having it boiled before use,
and taking it in the way I have mentioned, in tea,
coffee, or soup, and but very sparingly at first in
the unmixed state, will be a much cheaper, and
much safer preventive, and lead to no ulterior evil,
which cannot be predicated of the other mode of
using spirits as a corrective.

During the recent government of the late Lord
Durham (whose death appears to be universally
regretted here,) a Police Force was organized, on
the plan of that first instituted by Sir Robert Peel
in London. It consists of one hundred privates, six
mounted patroles, six sergeants, and six corporals.
The corps is formed into two divisions A and B,
with two captains to each, and the whole is placed
under a General Superintendant. The expense,
which is about 6,000^. a year, is paid by the Home
Government, and the benefits of it are worth the
purchase.

In the streets of Montreal are to be seen every
groups of female Indians, wearing mocassins of
their own manufacture on their feet, English men’s-
hats on their heads, and large blue English blankets
thrown over their shoulders. They come down to
the city daily, from the Indian village of Caghnawaga,

MONTREAL.

151

to sell the articles made by themselves and their
female children, in basket-work and other trifles ;
but it was a pleasing feature in their character to
observe that they were always sober, a rare occur-
rence with Indians of either sex, who frequent the
towns in the United States. This difference is occa-
sioned by the influence of Christianity, as the Cagh-
nawaga Indians are Catholics, and under a most
rigid discipline, and solemn vows of abstinence from
the use of spirits, which it is said they faithfully
observe, and their appearance and conduct, as far as
they fell under my own observation, induce me to
believe that this is really the case.

The general society of Montreal did not appear
to us to be as elegant and refined as that of f oronto.
There is as large a body of official personages and
professional men, and a still larger admixture of the
military ; but the former did not seem to us to
bring the same degree of excellence, in attainments
or manners, into society, as we had observed at To-
ronto ; while the military have the character, and
many of them had the appearance, of being intempe-
rate and dissipated. The manner in which many of
these had comported themselves towards ladies, both
married and single, w^as spoken of in terms of severe
reprobation ; and it was said that many serious and
painful dissensions had been occasioned in hitherto
happy families, in consequence of the improper cor-
respondence and intercourse betw^een the officers and
members of several of the most respectable houses.
By many, this laxity of domestic morals was attri-
buted to the influence of evil example in high places;
and it was thought that while those who occupied

152 CANADA.

the highest stations, and who ought, therefore, to be
examples of private as well as public purity to their
inferiors, lived in utter disregard of the domestic
proprieties, it was not to be wondered at that persons
of inferior station and authority should indulge their
evil propensities, and hope to pass uncensured with
impunity.

During our stay at Montreal, we joined a large
party of the Fiiends of Temperance in a pleasant
excursion on the St. Lawrence. A steamboat was
engaged for the occasion ; refreshments were pro-
vided, among which, however, there was no other
beverage than pure water, with abundance of ice ;
the band of the 85th regiment had been permitted
by its officers to accompany the party, and every
practicable arrangement was made for the comfort of
all. The passage money for the day’s trip, refresh-
ments included, was only one dollar ; and the surplus
of receipts above expenditure, if any, were to be
given to the funds of the Temperance Society. The
number of persons embarked exceeded 300 ; more
than half of whom were ladies and their children.
The day was peculiarly auspicious, when we left the
wharf at 9 o’clock in the morning, and continued so
to the close. We proceeded down the St. Lawrence,
stopping at several of the villages near the river on
our way ; particularly at Longueil, Boucherville,
and Varennes, at each of which the party landed,
and visited the parish churches. These were all
open ; and the priests were most attentive to our
wishes. We found all these edifices spacious, richly
yet tastefully decorated ; in beautiful order, as to
cleanliness and repair; their steeples light, airy,

MONTREAL. 153

and lofty ; and one of them, with two steeples, one
on each side of the entrance, a favourite fashion with
the Canadians of this quarter, and one that adds very
much to the picturesque appearance of their villages
along the borders of their noble river.

At St. Sulpice, the lowermost point of our excur-
sion, the boat was anchored, the steam let otF, and
during an interval of about an hour, an address was
delivered to the assembly on board, on the utility of
forming Temperance Societies, and the importance
of making a public profession by signing the pledge ;
on the importance as well as duty of the rich and
influential setting an example to their inferiors in
station, by abstaining altogether from the use of
intoxicating drinks; and answering most of the
objections commonly raised by opponents of such
unions, pledges, and privations. The address was
listened to with profound attention, both by those on
board, and by a large company assembled at St. Sul-
pice, on the shore, as our boat was anchored only
a few yards from the wharf. Curiosity thus excited,
brought a number of persons on board, who had
heretofore been utterly indifierent to the question of
Temperance, and had hardly ever spoken of it with-
out ridicule. But they confessed themselves to have
been brought to see the subject in a new light,
through the medium of this address ; and in proof of
the sincerity of their convictions, gave in their adhe-
sion to the Society, and promised to exert themselves
to prevail on others to follow their example.

After our stay here, we weighed anchor, and pro-
ceeded upward on our return to Montreal, enjoying
the beautiful scenery of the river, and the fine ap-

]54 CANADA.

proach to the town, at our leisure ; our progress being
much less rapid than on the downward trip, espe-
cially in the narrow pass called St. Mary’s, between
the lower part of the City, and the island of St. He-
len’s in the middle of the stream. The current
runs here at the rate of from six to seven miles an
hour, in its ordinary course ; but on some occasions
this rate of speed is augmented to nine and ten miles ;
hence it is very difficult even for steam-vessels to
resist its power. Previous to the introduction of
steam-navigation, sailing-ships, which could never sur-
mount this Rapid but by the force of a very strong,
as well as favourable wind, have been known to be
detained for months below, without being able to
reach Montreal, though a distance of less than three
miles ; and even now they are sometimes detained
for several days, when the current is peculiarly
strong, as they cannot be even towed through it
then by the most powerful steamers. By many
this is felt to be a great disadvantage to the mer-
chants and shipowners ; and the only counterbalan-
cing good that can be taken into the account is, that
the strength of the current would present a formi-
dfible hindrance to the advance of any naval force
against Montreal ; as the batteries of St. Helen’s,
the guns of which are pointed right across this
channel, would commit as much havoc on the
vessels slowly ascending it, as the castles of Sestos
and Abydos, in the narrow channel of the Darda-
nelles, where the strength of the current opposes, in
the same manner, the rapid passage of ships.

We reached Montreal on our return at sunset,
and every individual out of the 300 on board— crew.

MONTREAL.

155

passengers, and all-landed as clean, fresh, and sober,
as when they embarked, a circumstance which had
never before been witnessed, on any former pleasure
excursion from this city ; as on all such occasions it
invariably happens, that some return drunk, many
partially intoxicated, and the largest number more or
less affected by even the moderate quantities of drink
which they have taken. In this, however, the first
Temperance Excursion ever made from the wharfs
of Montreal, no such disgusting sights were seen, no
such offensive sounds heard, as those which too often
mark the return of a large party from a pleasure trip
on the water. F or the sake, therefore, of the exam-
ple thus exhibited, and the proof thus given, of the
capacity of men to enjoy considerable pleasure with-
out the slightest admixture of intemperance, it is
desirable that such Excursions should be frequently
made by the Friends of Temperance, as by so doing
the community will be induced to contrast their
sober, orderly, and happy returns, with the inebriate,
disorderly, and often contentious and riotous conduct
of those who take intoxicating drinks on such occa-
sions, while such contrasts often contemplated can
hardly fail to make converts to the purer and better
system. Of the necessity of this, and every other
mode of operating upon the public mind of Montreal
especially, in favour of the Temperance cause, as
well as to counteract the powerful influences arrayed
against it among the public authorities of the City,
the following paragraph, from the last number of the
Temperance Advocate, furnishes a melancholy proof.

“ The Corpokation of Montreal— Upon the list of Civil
Magistrates appointed under the Corporation Ordinance for the

156 CANADA.

city of Montreal, we perceive the names of two of the largest dis-
tillers, and three of the largest importers of intoxicating drinks
in Canada ; men whose business is, we believe, productive of more
misery and crime than the business of any other five men in the
country. Besides these five, there are five more directly inte-
rested in this most pernicious of traffics, making ten out of nine-
teen, or a clear majority of the whole on the rum interest.

We may add farther, that, as far as we know, not one of the
nineteen abstains from intoxicating drinks; consequently, the
drinking usages of society which are continually bringing forward
such a plentiful harvest of drunkards for the scythe of death, will
receive all the countenance and support that the civil magistrate
can lend ; and if members of the corporation act consistently with
the business in which so many of themselves are engaged, they
will not only not refuse applications for licenses, but, by every
means in their power, encourage and extend a traffic in which
they are so deeply interested.”

That the higher classes of society generally are
indifferent to the cause of Temperance in this City,
is beyond a doubt ; and a remarkable proof was
furnished to me of this, in the following contrast.
The courses of Lectures which I delivered during my
stay here, on Egypt and Palestine, were attended by
audiences of 600 persons at a time, in the Wesleyan
Church of St. James’s Street, including the most
influential and distinguished families of the City.
But when an evening was specially set apart for the
delivery of an address in favour of Mechanics’ Insti-
tutes, and Temperance Societies, with a view to
encourage both, for the improvement of the public
morals, and the promotion of rational and intellectual
enjoyment, not more than half the audience attend-
ing the previous Lectures w'ere present ; and the
absentees were almost wholly from among the clergy,
the members of the learned professions, and the civil

MONTREAI..

157

and municipal authorities. On the renewal of the
regular course, on the evening after this address was
delivered, all these absentees returned, and continued
their attendance to the end — expressing themselves
delighted with the accounts of the countries described,
but confessing themselves at the same time unwilling
to give up even a single evening, to hear anything on
the subject of Temperance or Education 1 though
more than half the crime and misery in this and
every other country, is clearly attributable to the
want of these preservatives.

On one of the finest days of our stay at Montreal,
we were taken by a party of friends to visit the
Mountain that rises behind the City, and gave its
name. Mount Royal, to the town. This was originally
called Ville Marie, from being dedicated to the
special protection of the Virgin Mary, but was ulti-
mately called Montreal, from the hill that formed
the most distinguishing feature of its locality. The
gentle ascent, leading from the outskirts of the town
to the foot of the hill, was very pleasing ; and the
view from the terrace and garden of the house, at
which we stopped to enjoy the hospitality of our
friends, in the refreshments they had provided for
us, was picturesque and beautiful. But it was not
until we had ascended to the brow of the hill, about
300 feet above this house, and nearly 500 feet above
the level of the St. Lawrence, that we saw the full
beauty of the picture in all its extent and splendour,
and certainly nothing could surpass it. The hill or
mountain itself, is pleasingly varied in its surface,
by gentle undulations, rocky masses, and fine old
forest trees, with here and there a perpendicular

158

CANADA.

cliff or precipice, from the brink of one of which,
looking towards the east, our view was taken. Imme-
diately at the foot of the mountain, commences a
gently descending slope, which soon terminates in a
plain, that i-eaches to the river’s edge, and the fer-
tility of which is seen in the rich corn fields, thriving
orchards, and well - stocked gardens that cover
nearly its whole area.

Along the edge of this, near the foot of the hill,
are ranged several pleasant villa-residences of some
of the wealthiest inhabitants j one of these, on a
grand scale, was left unfinished, by its projector,
an opulent “ north-wester,” as the old fur-traders to
the north-west territories were called, Mr. McTavish,
and is now fast going to ruin, his heirs residing in
the United States, and feeling no interest in its pre-
servation. In the grounds close by, a monument
has been erected by his surviving nephews, to the
memory of Mr. Me Xavish, whose remains were de-
posited here after death. The tomb is just in the rear
of the house ; the column or monument rises from
a small rocky eminence behind it, and being thickly
embowered in shrubbery, gives a romantic interest to
the picture. Near this spot is also the building-
erecting for the McGill College ; so that the opposite
conditions of progress and decay may here be con-
trasted in the edifices named. In the same neigh-
bourhood is an establishment belonging to the
Seminary of the St. Sulpicians, which was originally
called the Chateau des Seigneurs, as the Sulpicians
then were, and still are, of Montreal ; but it is now
more generally known by the name of The Priests’
l^arm. It consists of an old but substantial pile

MONTREAL.

159

of buildings, with extensive gardens and orchards,
and commands a delightful view of the City, the
river, and the surrounding country. In the summer
the Professors of the College bring their pupils here
once a week for exercise and recreation ; and they
usually march to and from the place in military
order, preceded by a hand of music, formed by
amateurs of their own body, all parties greatly
enjoying the holiday.

The view of the City of Montreal from the brow
of the mountain, is one of the finest that this or
any other country could produce, and is worth a long
voyage or journey to enjoy. The noble stream of
the St. Lawrence, over which the eye ranges for a
distance of twenty or thirty miles at least, forms a
magnificent feature in the scene ; while the richly
cultivated plains beyond the river, dotted thickly
over their whole extent with white villages and
closely clustered hamlets and cottages, contrasting
vividly with the rich green of the full-foliaged woods
and the golden yellow of their now ripened corn-
fields — the blue masses of the Belleisle mountains
in the nearer back-ground, and the lighter tints of
the still loftier chains in the farthest distance, rising
beyond the British and American frontier within
the States of New York and Vermont — the lovely
little spots of St. Helen’s and the Nun’s Island in
the centre of the stream, and the sparkling radiance
of the metallic-roofed spires of the numerous parish
churches, beaming like scattered points of light,
placed purposely to show the number of the sacred
edifices spread over the surface of the land — with the
reflected rays of the declining sun, given out by the

IGO CANADA.

white tin roofs of the colossal cathedral, towering
high above all the other buildings of the town — the
church steeples, and the terraces of the public and
private buildings in the City of Montreal — contributed
to make up a picture, which, for extent of view,
richness of colouring, and variety of feature, has few
or no superiors perhaps on the surface of the globe.
It is impossible to convey, in an engraving, the
enchanting effect of such a scene ; because the im-
mensity of space over which the eye ranges, and the
size and grandeur of the objects, cannot be reduced
to paper ^ but the accompanying View of JVIontreal
from the Mountain, will convey as accurate an idea
of the whole as can be produced on so limited a
scale.

£ 2 ^

CHAP. XII.

Departure from Montreal for Quebec — Passage down the River

St. Lawrence— Villages— Boats— Rafts— Canadian boat-songs

—Splendid sunset— Improving scenery of the river’s banks—
First view of Quebec — Magnificent picture — Wolfe’s Cove —
Plains of Abraham — Land at Quebec — Hotel on the Ram-
parts.

The period having at length arrived for our leaving
Montreal, we were occupied during all the former
part of the day in taking leave of our numerous
friends, receiving their visits and benedictions, with
a fervent hope that we should return at some future
time to see them again ; and on the afternoon of
Saturday, the 5 th of September, we embarked in
the steamer, the Canadian Eagle, for Quebec. The
weather was delightfully fine; the thermometer
about 72°; and our passage down the splendid St.
I^awrcnce was full of interest and pleasure. On both
sides the banks are covered with a continued succcs-
sion of villages, in each of which a parish church is
seen lifting its spire to heaven, and between village
and village, the cottages are so abundant as to form
almost a continuous and thickly-peopled neighbour-
hood. The large timber rafts descending with the
force of the current alone, or aided occasionally by
numerous small sails hoisted at different points, the
sinaller ones propelled by huge oars, the heavy

162 CANADA.

splash of which is regulated by the song of the
Canadian boatmen, reminding one of Moore’s
delightful Air —

“ Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast,

The Rapids are near, and the daylight’s past.”

The singular river craft, with long low hulls, and
single masts, carrying two or three square sails,
which, like those of the polaccas in the Mediterra-
nean, suffer no diminution of breadth in proportion
to their height — and the numbers of small fishing
canoes, some anchored and others floating with the
stream — all added considerably to the interest and
novelty of the scene, and give to the descent of the
St. Lawrence much more of variety and interest than
is seen or experienced in the descent of the Missis-
sippi. The river preserves all the way below Mont-
real a breadth of nearly two miles, here and there
prettily studded with woody and rocky islets, until
about sixty miles from the City, it expands into the
Lake St. Peter’s. There its volume is augmented
by the waters of several streams flowing into it on
both sides, but without much disturbing the beauti-
fully clear green which distinguishes the current of
the St. Lawrence ; and from thence onward it con-
tracts and expands its surface from one to five miles
in breadth, the banks growing more and more elevated,
and more and more populous, as you advance down-
ward towards the sea.

The sunset upon the river was one of the richest
and most beautiful that we had for a long time wit-
nessed, and would be thought an exaggeration if
faithfully depicted on the canvass ; I remember

163

UIVKR ST. L.'WVRENCE.

nothing in the Mediterranean or the Indian Ocean
equal to it ; and only one sunset superior, which was
that seen amid the forests of Tennessee, in the autumn
of the last year, and described on that occasion. In
this sunset on the St. Lawrence, the heavens in the
east, were of a singular dappled grey, rising above
a base of thickly-piled-up clouds, which seemed to
indicate the gathering of a storm : while in the west,
the whole of the heavens were suffused with a glow-
ing red, in every gradation of shade, from the deepest
crimson, to the lightest roseate hue. Gradually,
the clouds resolved themselves into beds of horizon-
tal strata, in which the variety of colours surpassed
anything that I remember ; but so beautifully
blended, and so harmoniously placed in juxtaposi-
tion and succession, that each tint seemed to set off
or enrich the beauty of its adjoining ones. Among
these, purple, crimson, amber, yellow, turquoise
blue, and aquamarine green, seemed most predomi-
nant; and no mosaic of varied marbles that was
ever made by the most skilful artist could present a
richer, more varied, or more glowing surface, than
did the eastern dome of the heavens in this enchant-
ing sunset ; which I longed to have the power of
transfixing on some permanent memorial before its
rapidly changing aspects caused its splendours to
fade away.

After a fine run during the night, we arose early
on the following morning, to enjoy the still improving
scenery of the approach to Quebec, and we were
not disappointed. We had passed the small settle-
ment of Les Trois Rivieres in the night, and were
down at the mouth of the river St. Anne at sunrise

M 2

164

CANADA.

The ledges of rocks that in many places line the
shores of the river at a considerable distance from
the land, thus narrowing the navigable channel of
the centre, are very remarkable ; on some of them
are placed lights at night, to warn the boatmen of
their danger, but the great depth of water near them
lessens the risk of injury, and they may be often
approached within a few yards in perfect safety.
We passed the entrance also to the river of Jacques
Cartier, so called after the early French navigator,
who was the first to penetrate the St. Lawrence as
high as Montreal ; and soon after this, the first view*
of Quebec opened upon us, the City being then dis-
tant seven or eight miles.

I had expected to behold a beautiful picture, and
I was not disappointed. On tbe left was seen Cape
Diamond, with its steep pyramidal line, rising from
the river’s edge to a height of 350 feet, surmounted
by a flagstaff and telegraph. Leading inward to
the Citadel, of which this was the site, were the
celebrated Plains of Abraham, on which Wolfe
received his death-wound, in the battle fought there
with Montcalm, by which Quebec was captured.
On the right w^as point Levi, and the rising ground
behind it covered with villages. Betw'een these
opposite capes was the harbour of Quebec, in which
a squadron of ships of war were seen at anchor, with
about twenty sail of merchant vessels under weigh,
steering up the river with a flood tide, and a light
easterly breeze, and at least a hundred other ships
moored in the stream. Beyond all this, in the mid-
dle-distance, and forming the remote back ground to
tbe harbour, was the lofty mountain of Cap Tour-

QUEBEC.

165

ment, of a light blue tint; while the glassy surface
of the river— the whiteness of the ships under sail—
the freshness of the verdure on the opposite shores
—the glittering of the bright tin-roofed domes and
spires in Quebec— and the life and animation that
seemed to pervade the whole scene-formed altogether
a finer picture than anything that we had yet seen
upon this splendid river, and worthy of a Qaiide or
a Stanfield for its delineator ; it would require indeed
all the varied powers and peculiar excellencies o
each to do it justice.

As we drew nearer to the City, the details in-
creased in interest. On both sides of the river the
banks were occupied by large timber yards, or coves,
as they are called here, though there is little or no
indentation in the lines of the shore, in which thou-
sands of large logs lay floating as they came from the
rafts ready for shipment to England. Ship-building
establishments were also seen mingled with these,
and every foot of the space seemed to be occupied
for some industrial purpose. On the left, below
Cap Rouge— so called from a singular mass of red^
dish rock which terminates in an overhanging blutt
towards the river— the settlement of New London
was pointed out to us, and immediately opposite to it
on the right, the equally insignificant settlement of
New Liverpool, the names of which reminded us ot
the United States, and seemed more after the man-
ner of naming places on the Hudson or the Ohio,
than on the St. Lawrence. Among the coves on
the left, that which bears the name of Wolf s Cove
will attract the attention of the English traveller
most strongly; and when he sees the steep acch-

1 66 CANADA.

vities, almost perpendicular and always precipitous,
up which the soldiers of Wolfe’s army made their
ascent to the battle-plain, and over which the sailors
of the fleet hoisted or hauled up the cannon for the
fight, he will wonder at their intrepidity, and be
surprised at their success.

We stood in for the wharf of the Lower Town,
passing immediately under the towering Citadel;
and landing amidst a crowd of claimants for the
honour of conveying us to our hotel, we selected a
vehicle, and with French drivers, whose vociferations
were as loud and angry towards their horses as their
politeness was excessive towards their passengers, we
wound our way up the steep and tortuous ascent from
the Lower to the Upper Town; — passing the Sault
aux Matelots, formerly no doubt the principal resort
of the boatmen and sailors, — entering the fortified
portion of the City, through the Prescott Gate,—
winding past the Parliament House, with its fine

front and lofty dome, — ^passing the English Church,

the French Cathedral, the Court H^ouse, N^unneries,
Gardens, Markets, and narrow streets of indescrib-
able irregularity,— till we at length reached the object
of our search, Payne’s Hotel, near the ramparts ; and
finding comfortable apartments, we took up our
quarters there.

CHAP. XIII.

... p„„a,ia Cabot, Cortereal, and Veraz-

Earliest intercourse with Canada , ’„yoyages of Jacques
zano- First intercourse

Cartier-Roberval, Viceroy citfby the Lglish

Founding of Quebec-First capture crf^

in 1629— Other attacks at X ir .. recital of Grey’s

General Wolfe— Plan ”P®'^f.,*p^g„aling the Heights of the

Elegy, the night before the Plainf-Beath of General

of Quebec by the Americans.

To some travellers, the principal charm of
L in the holdnees of it. I^illon. a. ’

toothet.,™ the

to huS ^soctations. For myself, I can say

1? and inclination to enjoy them, a

who have leiswe ana j endeavour

“T ir: Ar^^dtr^uci »f material.

irair.. to eoAle him top^icip^^^^^^^

IK" LTS—, aLLn Ihllow
Kp T i by several interesting excnrsmns m the

"ThKsm^ of Quebec carries us back to the
earliest voyages made upon this coast, antenor even

168

CANADA.

to the settlement of Virginia, or the landing of the
Pilgrim Fathers in New England, by nearly a hun-
dred years. So thickly clustered were the grand
maritime discoveries of these early days, that in
1492, Columbus first landed in the West India
Islands j in 1497j Vasco de Gama first passed round
the Cape of Good Hope ; and in 1498, John and
Sebastian Cabot discovered the continent of North
America, sailing under the auspices of Henrv VII.
of England, from Bristol, touching at the coasts of
Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and passing
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The father, John
Cabot, was knighted on his return, for his dis-

coveries, and had, what would now be thought a
contemptible sum, a reward of 10^. sterling from the
King’s privy purse, for his finding the new countries;
while the son, Sebastian, who made several voyages
afterwards, and brought home three “ wild men,”\s
they were called, from Newfoundland, to the King,
was ultimately honoured with the appointment of
Grand Pilot of all England, on a salary or fee of
166/. 13d. 4d. per annum, with which he built a
fine house, called Poplar, at Blackwall, near London,
and there ended his days.

In the year 1500, the Portuguese sent out an
expedition to the coast of North America under
Gaspar Cortereal, and visiting the shores north of
the St. Lawrence, as far as the entrance of Hudson’s
Bay, they brought away with them fifty-seven of the
more robust of the native Indians, to be used as
labourers, and sold as slaves. Their supposed
excellent qualities, and the large supply which the
country was thought likely to furnish of these

169

qukbec.

labourers, caused it at length to be called ierra
Laborador, or the Land of Labourers, from whence
its present name, Labrador j although m the oldest
Its ^ ^^erra Corterealis, from

^ In 150‘t, the French first directed their attention
to this coast, and some fishermen from the Basque
Provinces of Normandy and Breton, ventured thus
"a’rch of fish, on the hanks and coa^ oj New-
foundland, and were amply rewarded They gave
the name to Cape Breton ; and in 1508, Aubert, a
pilot of Dieppe, took from hence some American
£Ls, .„/Lveyedthem ‘o Fra„« wtee ^
excited great curiosity, as the aboriginal inhabitants
of the New World.

Verazzano. the Florentine

who followed frem Europe to tins part of Amen*
and he came in the service of Francis I., Ki g
France, in 1524,. His voyage was a most en e^
prising and comprehensive one; he sailed from
Madeira, 900 leagues westw^d, and
the land about Savannah in Georgia, ^itude 32
north from whence he sailed up along the whole line
of colst reaching from thence to latitude 50 nort ,
embracing, therefore, the whole of what constitut
Te Sd States, and the British North American
P.^vinces of the present day. a far more extensive
survey of the new continent than ha een eve
beforl accomplished by any navigator. To all tMs
region he was the first to give the name of La
N^uvelle France,” claiming it for his patron and
employer ; hut that name was soon displaced in th
south by other claimants, and was ultimately re-

CANADA.

stricted to the territories actually possessed by the
French.

An interesting incident is mentioned in the his-
tory of Verazzano’s voyage, which shows that the
first intercourse of the aborigines with their white
visitors, was of a most friendly nature. It is said,
that at the desire of Verazzano himself, a young
seaman of his crew swam to the shore, for the pur”
pose of making some presents to the natives, and
opening an intercourse with them by signs. On his
reaching the beach, he found so many of them
assembled, with weapons of various kinds, that
he began to be alarmed, and in his terror endea-
voured to turn back and regain his ship ; but he was
seized by the natives, and taken by them, in a state
of insensibility from fear, up to their encampment.
When he recovered his senses, and saw himself com-
pleteljMn their power, his fears returned, and he
stretched out his hands towards the ship, and by
piercing cries intimated his wish to reioin

QUEBEC.

171

safely to \he ship, deeply impressed with the
humanity of the savages.

"MVTFrrclvvho undithe
Sg Frti“e fU sailed from St, Male.
nJril 1534. with two ships of only 60 Ions each,
Id for;* of 61 men. In May of the same year

ho an;i,ed e^rI^hX of

Srm!’(whieh they so named because of the gre«

^ VZtLre in July), advanced from thence to

rFrl^Cri^y t“he. *or^. f*™"' td

thXg andJith the Church, C„tmr was

with a new commission ; and h

placed under 1- Ihe Her-

1^ tons, the 1 After a solemn bene-

172

CANADA.

mately reunited on the coast of Newfoundland, on
the 26th of July. It was on the 10th of August,
the festival of St. Lawrence, that they first made a
siifBcient entry into the great river of Canada, to see
that it was filled with islands, and led for a consider-
rable depth into the land. In honour of this Saint,
therefore, on whose festival it was thus far entered
for the first time, the name of St. Lawrence was
given to the Gulf or inlet, and subsequently extended
to the river, of which this was the outlet into the
sea; its embouchure being here about 120 miles
across, a scale of magnitude which is worthy of the
noble stream itself. From hence they proceeded
upwards by the Island of Anticosti, (so called by
the English at a subsequent period, being a corrup-
tion of its Indian name, Natiscotec), but named by
Cartier, Assumption, because first seen on the day
of that festival. They then advanced as far as the
river Saguenay, which they entered on the 1st of
September, and reached on the 6th the Isle aux
Coudres, or Isle of Filberts, so called from the abun-
dance and large size of the nuts found by them there.
Beyond this, they came to the present Isle of Orleans
named, however, by Cartier, the Isle of Bacchus,’
irom the number of vines with which it abounded,
(a feature, it will be remembered, which caused the
Northmen in their still earlier voyages to call
the whole country Vinland) ; and on the 7th of
eptember, 15p, they first saw the promontory to

the north of this island, which forms the present site
or Quebec.

named Stadacona, and the Chief of the Tribe then

QUEBEC. 173

occupying it, called Donnacona, came, accompanied
by twelve canoes, with eight Indians in each, to pay
their visit to Cartier’s squadron. As they approached
the Great Hermina, however, the chief ordered all
the canoes to keep back, except his own and another,
to avoid the appearance of hostility and force ; and
these two approaching, hailed the ship in their own
tono-ue. It fortunately happened that Cartier had,
on board, the Indians who had been previously taken
from the coast and carried to France ; and these,
understanding the language of their red brethren,
spoke to them in their own tongue, described the
wonderful country they had seen in their absence,
and spoke with gratitude of the kind treatment they
had received from the French. This was sufficient
to induce Donnacona and his friends to approach
still nearer, till they came on board, when the Chief
took the arm of Cartier, kissed it, laid it on his
neck, and did everything he could to show his glad-
ness and affection. These advances were met in a
kindred spirit by Cartier, who went into the canoe
of the Indians, partook of bread and wine with them,
and made every one pleased with themselves and
with each other. Here, therefore, Cartier determined
to winter; and finding, in the small river bt.
Charles, which joins the St. Lawrence a little to the
north of the promontory of Quebec, a safe and goo
place for that purpose, he moored his vessels here,
on the l6th of September. This being the fesbval
of the Holy Cross, he named the place, the Fort
of St. Croix accordingly ; and thus describes its

position —

1 74 CANADA.

“ There is a goodly, fair, and delectable bay, or creek, conve-
nient and fit to harbour ships. Hard by, there is, in that river,
one place very narrow, deep, and swift running, but it is not the
third part of a league ; over against which, there is a goodly
high piece of land, with a town therein. That is the place and
abode of Donnacona ; it is called Stadacona ; under which town,
towards the north, the river and port of the Holy Cross is, where
we staid from the 15th of September, 1535, until the 6th of
May, 1536 ; and there our ships remained dry.”

The spot occupied by the Indian settlement of
Stadacona, now the Suburbs of St. Roch, just with-
out the ramparts of Quebec, he thus describes—

“ It is as goodly a plot of ground as possible may be seen ;
and therewithal very fruitful, full of goodly trees, even as in
France ; such as oaks, elms, ashes, walnut trees, maple trees,
and white thorns, that bring forth fruit as big as any damsons,’
and many other sorts of trees, under which groweth as fine tall
hemp as any in France, without any seed, or any man’s work or
labour at all.”

The further progress of Cartier from hence up
the river St. Lawrence as far as Hochelaga, is de-
scribed in a previous chapter on the history of Mont-
re^al ; it remains only to be added, that after losino-

persons of the expedition, from scurvy and cold^
and the health of all the rest, save three, being greatly
affected by the severity of the climate, they returned
to Frmce in July, 1,536, carrying with them, the
chief Donnacona, and two other Indians of rank,
as well as the interpreters whom they first brought
out with them, all of whom were well received by
e mg of France, and treated with so much kind-
ness as to become entirely reconciled to their fate.

QUEBEC. 175

As every successive voyage made from Europe to
this quarter of the glohe seemed to increase the gene-
ral interest felt in its future settlement, so on the
termination of this second expedition of Cartier, a
third was set on foot, of which Jean Fran9ois de la
Roque, the Lord of Roherval in Picardy, was to
have the civil and military command, under the title
of Viceroy and Lieutenant-General in Canada, there
to represent the King with full powers ; and of which
Cartier was to have the maritime command, under
the title of Captain-General and Leader of the
squadron. The fleet consisted of five ships, and the
whole cost of their outfit was provided for by the
king. They sailed from St. Malo on the 23rd of
May, 1541, and did not reach the port of St. Croix
in the river St. Charles, till the 23rd of August,
Roherval not joining them at all. On their arrival
at Stadacona, the Indians came in great numbers to
see them, though they were somewhat disconcerted
at hearing that their former chief, Donnacona, had
died in France ; and that the rest had married there,
and were so well off that they had no wish to return.
Cartier now ascended the St. Lawrence in boats a
second time, and fixed his new winter-quarters at the
mouth of the river which empties itself into the St.
Lawrence at Cape Rouge, about nine miles above
St. Croix. Here he built two forts, one on a level
with the water, and another on the top of the hill,
with steps cut out of the rock to communicate from
the one to the other, calling the port, Charlesbourg
Royal. He then proceeded up as high as Montreal,
examining the river and the rapids in his way, and
descended to Charlesbourg Royal for his winter-

CANADA.

176

quarters ; from whence, when the spring came, he
set out to return to France. In the mean while, the
Lord of Roberval, who had failed in his engagement
to accompany Cartier, had left France in April,
154<2, with three large ships, and two hundred per-
sons, as settlers for the first French colony to be
founded here ; and in the roadstead of St. John’s, in
Newfoundland, Cartier, on his return voyage, met
Roberval on his outward enterprise. The latter
did his utmost to prevail on Cartier to return with
him, but this, for reasons not recorded, he declined
to do, and pursued his voyage to France, where he
soon afterwards died ; while Roberval proceeded to
Canada, and established himself at the position last
left by Cartier at Cape Rouge. He remained here
for one winter, without effecting much towards the
settlement of the country — returned to France in
1543 — engaged in the wars of the times between his
sovereign Francis the First and the Emperor Charles
the Fifth — and six years afterwards, having got
together a large number of settlers willing to try
their fortunes in the New World, he, with his brother
Achille, left France for Canada, but the fleet in
which they sailed was never heard of more I

From this time, up to 1603, a period of more than
half a century, there were several voyages of minor
interest and importance that took place, one of La
Roche, another of Pontgrave, and another of Chau-
vin ; but no important results were produced by
them. In 1603, however, the celebrated Champlain,
a captain in the French navy, who had served in the
West Indies with great honour, was appointed to
command a new expedition to Canada ; and in his

QUEBEC. 177

voyage up the St. Lawrence, it is said that he
expressed himself deeply impressed with the excel-
lence of the position now occupied by Quebec, and
formed his intention to rhake it the site of a town or
settlement of the French. This was not effected,
however, until five years afterwards, when, on due
examination of the promontory called Cape Diamond,
the river St. Charles, and the fine deep and spacious
harbour formed here by the opposing shores, and
the Isle of Orleans, he determined to fix on this spot
the capital of the new empire of the West, to be
called New France ; and on the third of July, I6O8,
he here laid the foundations of the present City of
Quebec.

Champlain continued to reside in this settlement,
making occasional excursions in the summer, on one
of which he discovered the beautiful lake that still
bears his name, dividing the State of Vermont from
the State of New York. He brought out his family
from France and induced others to follow his example
for the purpose of advancing the prospects of the
settlement. In 1620 — the year of the English Pil-
grim Fathers landing at Plymouth — ^he built a fort
at Quebec on the site of the castle of St. Lewis,
which he rebuilt of stone in 1624, and fortified
strongly. Such was the infancy of the colony then,
that it numbered in that year only fifty souls ; and
the first French child born in Quebec, was baptized
in the year 1621, and entered in the parish register,
under the name of Eustache, son of Abraham Mar-
tin, and Margaret L’Anglois. This entry is dated
October 24th, 1621.

Not long after this, Quebec was taken by the

178

CANADA.

English ; a small armament, under Louis Kertk, a
Huguenot refugee, having sailed against it. Finding
the garrison wholly unprovided for defence, he caused
it to surrender upon a summons ; and the British
flag was thus planted on the walls of Quebec, on the
22nd of July, 1629 ; about 130 years before its
second capture by General Wolfe, in 17^9* On the
occasion of its first capture, Champlain was sent to
England as a prisoner of war ; from whence he was
soon liberated, and returned first to France, and
ultimately to Canada, where he arrived in 1633 ;
just one year after he had lived to see Quebec and
all Canada restored again to the French, by the treaty
of St. Germain-en-Laye, which was signed on the
29th of March, 1632. The founder of Quebec did
not long survive the restoration of the City, however;
for he died in Dec., 1635, in the settlement he had
first formed, and where he had lived for upwards of
thirty years. He was followed to the grave by all
the community, by every class of whom he was greatly
respected ; and a funeral oration was pronounced by
one of the Fathers of the Church over his remains,
which were interred with all the honours that the
means of the Colony would enable the inhabitants to
bestow, his loss being universally regretted.

From that period to this, Quebec has been slowly
but progressively on the increase; though it has
had some trying times to pass through, and been the
scene of many a hard struggle. In 1653, it was
attacked by a body of 700 Indian warriors, who
massacred most of the inhabitants without the town,
but were successfully repulsed by those within the
walls. In 1690, it was again attacked by a British

QUEBEC. 1 79

Colonial force from Massachusetts, under Sir William
Phipps ; but after an unsuccessful attempt to make
it surrender, the forces were withdrawn. Another
failure took place in the attempt to reduce Quebec,
which was made in 17 H> when the naval force
under Admiral Walker, and the military under
General Nicholson, were so unfortunate that no less
than eight ships, containing 884 seamen, officers, and
troops, were wrecked amid the fogs of the coast ;
while the military were obliged to abandon their
position, and give up the expedition in despair.

The great struggle for the possession of Quebec,
was reserved, however, for a later period, 1759. The
war of 1755 , between the English and the French,
led to extensive military operations on the American
continent, where the French had established a line
of military posts, from the entrance of the St. Law-
rence to the outlet of the Mississippi, from Quebec
to New Orleans, so as to hem in the British posses-
sions on the west, and threaten at some future day,
the conquest of all her settlements. At the head of
this gi'owing military power of the French in Ame-
rica, stood Quebec — ^its age, its size, its strength,
and its position, all combining to give it precedence
as the seat of empire in the west. Its reduction
became, therefore, an object of intense desire on the
part of the British ; and accordingly, a plan of com-
bined operations, the first idea of which was suggested
by Governor Pownall, of Massachusetts, to Mr. Pitt,
afterwards Earl of Chatham, was determined on, by
which several points should be attacked at once.
In pursuance of this plan, General Amherst was to
attack Fort Ticonderago and Crown Point, on Lake

N 2

180

CANADA.

Champlain, from New York ; Sir William Johnson,
with a large body of Iroquois Indians, from the
Valley of the Mohawk, was to attack Niagara, and
if successful descend to Montreal ; and Genpral
Wolfe, supported by a naval as well as military force,
was to conduct the attack on Quebec.

In pursuance of this plan. General Wolfe sailed
from Spithead in England, with a portion of the
troops to be placed under his command, joined by
the ships of war under Admiral Saunders, on the
17th of February, 1759. They rendezvoused at
Halifax, where they were joined by other regiments,
making the whole land-force 8,000 men. It was
not till the 6th of June that they sailed for the St.
Lawrence, nor until the 26th of the same month
that they anchored off the Isle of Orleans, near to
Quebec. It may be interesting to state that among
the officers of the naval expedition, was the cele-
brated Captain Cook, the circumnavigator of the
globe, who was then serving in the capacity of sail-
ing-master on board the Mercury, one of the fleet.
He had served a short apprenticeship of three years,
in a collier between Newcastle and London, between
174’7 1750, had quitted the merchant service,

and entered on board a man-of-war, the Eagle, of 28
guns, in 1752 ; he was at the siege of Louisburg in
the Pembroke, in 1758, and was appointed sailing-
master of the Mercury, under orders for Canada, on
the 10th of May, I759. His skill and capacity
recommended him so strongly to the notice of the
Admiral commanding the fleet. Sir Charles Saun-
ders, that he committed to his care the execution of
some of the most difficult duties connected with the

QUEBEC.

181

attack upon Quebec, all of which he discharged
most ably. He was afterwards appointed to make
a nautical survey of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and
the coasts of Newfoundland, and discharged this
duty so well, that he received a commission as Lieu-
tenant in April, I76O, and in May, I768, v/as made
a Captain in the navy, in which capacity his cele-
brated voyages of discovery were subsequently per-
formed.

At Quebec, the French force consisted of 13,000
men, of which six battalions were regular troops of
the line, and the remainder were formed of a well-
trained Canadian militia, with cavalry and Indian
auxiliaries, the whole under the command of a brave
and distinguished General, the Marquis de Mont-
calm. The French naval force consisted of two
large frigates, and six smaller vessels of 24 guns
each. The British force consisted of 8,000 men,
all regular and well-disciplined troops, under the
command of General Wolfe, and the naval force
consisted of 20 ships of the line, 8 frigates, 9 sloops,
3 fire-ships, and 7 smaller vessels.

The first attempts of the British were unsuccess-
ful, and the grenadiers, with Wolfe at their head,
were signally defeated, near the Falls of Montmo-
renci. At a council of war held soon after this,
W^olfe urged a repetition of the attack upon the
French lines here ; but General Townsend, the third
in command, suggested the plan of ascending the
river some distance above Quebec, reaching the
Plains of Abraham behind the town, and attacking
the works in their weakest part from thence. Wolfe,
seeing at once the excellence of the plan, surrendered

182

CANADA.

his own opinion, adopted the advice of his inferior
in rank, and determined to carry it into execution.

Accordingly, on the night of the 12th of Septem-
ber, the ships and boats of the fleet co-operating
with the army, the main body of the troops were
conveyed with the flood-tide up the river St. Law-
rence, past the batteries of Quebec, as if they were
going to attack some point beyond the City j but
when the ebb-tide turned, they all dropped silently
down till they came to the small cove appointed for
the landing, called from thence Wolfe’s Cove, not
more than two miles beyond Cape Diamond, where
the strongest part of the French was seated. The
following touching anecdote is recorded of Wolfe,
which shows how strongly his love of literature, and
ambition of intellectual glory, beamed through all
his military feelings* even at a moment when it
might have been expected that everything would
have been absorbed in the thoughts of the coming
conflict on which he was about to enter. Among the
midshipmen who attended General Wolfe in his
duty of visiting the various posts on the night before
the battle, was young Mr. Robinson, subsequently
the distinguished Professor of that name of Edin-
burgh, who states, that as they rowed along in the
boats, the night being peculiarly flne, and the stars
beaming with unusual brilliance. General Wolfe
repeated to his companions in arms, with great feel-
ing and pathos, the beautiful poem of Gray’s Elegy
in a Country Churchyard, which had only just then
been published, and after uttering the exquisite
line —

“ The paths of glory lead but to the grave,”

QUEBEC 1 83

he remarked to the officer who sat next to him in the
stern of the boat, that he would prefer the distinction
of being the author of that poem, even to the honour
of beating the French on the morrow.

At daylight on the 13th, the troops landed at the
foot of the steep acclivities leading up to the heights of
Abraham ; and as the spot was wholly undefended,
from the belief that it presented natural difficulties
which no troops could overcome, the British met with
no resistance in their way. The ascent was in many
places nearly perpendicular, the height about 300
feet above the river, and everywhere so steep, that
it was only by pulling themselves up from time to
time by the roots and branches of the bushes, that
the troops could surmount the obstacles of their way.
They nevertheless achieved their undertaking with-
out the loss of a man, and soon formed in good order
on the Plains of Abraham, at the summit ; while
the sailors of the fleet surpassed even the soldiers, in
the boldness of their enterprise, as they succeeded in
dragging up these precipitous cliffs, a brass six-
pounder, the only piece of artillery used on the
British side in the action.

The French general, Montcalm, who was then at
Beauport, a little below Quebec, would not credit
the intelligence first brought to him of the English
having obtained access to the Plains of Abraham, as
he thought such an achievement impossible; but,
being satisfied of the fact, he hastened to the spot,
determined to give the enemy battle. The two
commanders met at the head of their respective
forces ; Wolfe commanding the right of the English
line, while Montcalm commanded the left of the

CANADA.

IS'l.

French ; and wherever the battle raged most
furiously, these gallant leaders were found. Wolfe
was soon wounded by a musket-ball in the wrist,
which he hastily bound up and concealed ; when
placing himself at the head of the grenadiers, he led
them to the charge with the bayonet, and succeeded
in driving the enemy before him. In this onset he
received a second ball in the groin ; notwithstanding
which he still held on his way, until a third ball
inflicted a mortal wound in the breast, and he fell
to rise no more. From the first moment, his greatest
anxiety was to prevent his death from being known
to his soldiers. He intreated the officer who sup-
ported him, not to let the troops see him drop ; but
when, as he was quenching his burning thirst, with
some water brought from a neighbouring well, he was
told that the enemy were giving way in every direc-
tion, he exclaimed, » Now, God be praised, I die
happy ! ” and these were the last words he breathed ;
expiring on the battle-field at the early age of thirty-
two.

Montcalm was also soon wounded by a musket-shot
at the head of his troops, but still continued in
action ; until a more severe wound, received from
the only piece of cannon which the English had on
the field, gave him his death-blow, though he sur-
vived some hours after receiving it. On being told,
in answer to his earnest inquiries, that his wound
was mortal, and that ten or twelve hours would pro-
bably be the limited term of his life, he replied, “ I
am glad of it, as I shall not then live to see the sur-
render of Quebec.” His dying moments were marked
great generosity towards his conquerors ; and

QUEBEC. 185

at 5 o’clock the following morning he also breathed
his last.

The body of Wolfe was taken to England, and
buried with military honours in the family vault at
Greenwich, a monument being afterwards erected
to his memory in Westminster Abbey ; and the
body of Montcalm was interred in the Ursuhne
Convent of Quebec, in a hollow grave made by the
bursting of a shell that fell within the Convent walls,
where a monument also marks his resting-place, and

records his lamented death.

The slight loss of the assailants, and the severe
loss of the defenders of this important Citadel of
Quebec, furnish a remarkable contrast. On the
part of the British, the loss was only 45 killed, and
506 wounded. On the part of the French, the loss
amounted to 1,500 killed, wounded, and taken pri-
soners ; the commanders on both sides were slam,
and several of the general officers of each of the
armies were mortally and severely wounded.

Quebec thus falling into the hands of the British,
was filled with a garrison of 5,000 men under
General Murray, articles of capitulation were
interchanged, and signed by the respective generals
commanding the forces ; and from that day to this,
Quebec has remained in our possession.

Soon after its surrender to the English, however,
the scattered portions of the French army were col-
lected at Montreal, where they were reinforced by
volunteers ; and a strong attack was made on Quebec
by their united forces, amounting according to the
French account to 10,750 effective men, and accord-

186 CANADA,

ing to the English account to 15,000 men. There
were at that time only 3,000 British in the garrison,
and no ships of war ; while the French had six
frigates of from 26 to 44 > guns each, which gave
them the complete command of the river, and induced
them to place the City under siege. Before this
could be put into execution, however. General Mur-
ray, the English commander, determined on giving
the French battle. Accordingly he marched out to
the Plains of Abraham where they were encamped,
for that purpose, under all the disadvantage of oppos-
ing a force of 10,000, with one of 3,000 men only.
As might have been anticipated, though his men
fought bravely, they were overpowered by superior
numbers, and compelled to retreat into the Citadel,
where they remained from the 28th of April, the
day of the battle on the Plains, till the 11th of May,
on which the French Commander, the Marquis de
Levi, commenced the siege. The preparations in
the Citadel had enabled them to mount no less
than 132 pieces of cannon on the ramparts; the bat-
teries of the besiegers were, therefore, soon silenced
by their fire. On the 15th, a large fleet of English
ships of war arrived in the river, which speedily
destroyed the French flotilla, and compelled the
Marquis de Levi to raise the siege and retreat to
Montreal, where the Marquis de Vaudreuil was
determined to hold out to the last. General Amherst
however, approaching from Lake Champlain, and
the British forces joining them from Quebec on the
one side, and Lake Ontario on the other, there was
no hope for the French, who seeing themselves thus

QUEBEC. 187

surrounded on ^all hands, signed a capitulation on the
8th of September, by which the whole Province of
Canada was secured to the British power.

At the period of the American revolution, it is
well known, that Canada did not join the revolted
Colonies, but continued firm in her allegiance to the
Crown ; and hence it became the land of refuge to
the many loyalists who were driven from the United
States by the success of their War of Independence.
As it was believed, however, by the Americans of
that day, that an attack upon Quebec would he
successful, and if so, would induce all Canada to
join their cause, such an attack was planned, and its
execution committed to two American Generals,
Montgomery and Arnold. The British troops
usually retained in Canada for its defence had
been sent on to Boston, so that the Province was
almost destitute of military force, there being scat-
tered throughout all Canada only about 800 men.
In this state of things. General Montgomery advanced
from Lake Champlain on St. John’s, and after a
short resistance took it •, he then marched on against
Montreal, which being perfectly defenceless, surren-
dered to the American arms, on the 12th of Novem-
ber, 1775 * At the same time. General Arnold was
known to Montgomery to he advancing towards
Quebec, from the New England States, by way of
the Kennebec river through Maine, which at this
late period of the year was a most daring under-
taking. After passing thirty-two days in the wild
forests and swamps, and suffering almost incredible
hardships and privations in this hitherto untrodden
wilderness, Arnold and his followers reached the

CANADA.

188

banks of the St. Lawrence by the Chaudiere river,
on the 4 th of November, in the same year. From
thence they descended to Point Levi, opposite to
Quebec, where they arrived on the 9th, crossed
over on the night of the 13th, and landed 500 men
at Wolfe’s Cove, without being perceived either by
the sentries or from the ships of war.

On the 1st of December, this foree was joined by
a much larger one under General Montgomery from
Montreal. By these two, the City was invested, and
several bombardments of it made with shot and
shells, but without producing much effect. A night-
attack was at length determined on by Montgomery,
on the southern, and Arnold on the northern side of
the Lower Tower. Both attacks were made with
great courage and impetuosity, but both failed. In
the former. General Montgomery and nearly all his
personal staff were killed ; in the latter. General
Arnold was wounded, and with most of his followers
taken prisoners. The loss of the Americans in these
attacks was upwards of 100 killed and wounded, and
of the British only 1 naval officer killed, and 17 men
killed and wounded. The Americans did not, how-
ever, give up the attempt to reduce Quebec ; as, dur-
ing all the winter following, they continued to receive
re-inforcements, and to invest the town ; and in the
spring of the ensuing year. May I776, they renewed
their attack on the Citadel. General Carleton, the
English commander of the garrison, having received
an important accession to his force, by the arrival of
a small squadron under the command of Sir Charles
Douglas, bringing to his aid provisions, ammunition,
and men, was enabled to baffle every attempt made

QUEBEC. 189

on the City, and ultimately to make a sally on the
enemy, when they retreated, and abandoned their
post.

This was the last hostile attack on Quebec by any
foreign foe, and as since that period the Citadel has
been gradually strengthened and improved, under
every successive Governor of the Province, it is now
in a condition to resist ten times the force ever yet
brought against it, and could not, so long as it con-
tained supplies of provisions, and an adequate num-
ber of brave and faithful men, be conquered by any
force likely to be brought against it from this con-
tinent.

Thus far, the history of Quebec has been briefly
sketched, from its first founding by Champlain, in
1608, up to its last defence by General Carleton in
1776, since which, no military operations of import-
ance have been conducted here. All else belongs to
its civil history and condition, and this will be best
exhibited, bv a description of Quebec as it is at the
present moment, with such notices of the rise and
progress of its principal establishments, as may be
necessary to render that description complete.

Description of the City in its present state — Situation of the
town — Excellence of its harbour — Commanding position of

the Citadel — Plan and arrangement of the streets and alleys

Lower Town and Upper Town — Suburb of St. Roch — Streets
— Private Dwellings — Shops — Public Buildings — Ancient
Castle of St. Lewis — Ceremony of swearing fealty by the
Seigneurs — Destruction of the ancient Castle by fire — Beauti-
ful Platform and Promenade on its site — Parliament House —
Exterior of the building— Hall of the Legislative Assembly
— Library — Valuable eollection of old books — Legislative
Council Chamber — Bishop’s Palace — Lower Town — Custom
House — Exchange — Trinity House — Sault-aux-Matelot —
Origin of the name— Upper Town — Court House and Jail
— Government Offices — Museum of Natural History — Literary
Society — Mechanics’ Institute.

The situation of Quebec is highly advantageous, in
a commercial as well as a military point of view, and
its appearance is very imposing, from whatever quar-
ter it is first approached. Though at a distance of
350 miles up from the sea, the magnificent river, on
which it is seated, is three miles in breadth a little
below the town, and narrows in to about a mile in
breadth immediately abreast of the citadel ; having,
in both these parts, sufficient depth of water for the
larpst ships in the world— a rise and fall of 20 feet
in its tides — and space enough in its capacious basin,
between Cape Diamond on the one hand, and the
Isle of Orleans on the other, to afford room and

QUEBEC.

191

anchorage for a thousand sail of vessels at a time,
sheltered from all winds, and perfectly secure ! A
small river, the St. Charles, has its junction with the
St. Lawrence, a little to the north of the promontory
of Cape Diamond, and affords a favourable spot for
ship-building and repairs, as well as an excellent
winter-harbour for ships lying up dismantled.

The Citadel of Quebec occupies the highest point
of Cape Diamond, being elevated 350 feet above the
river, and presenting almost perpendicular cliffs
towards the water. The City is built from the
water’s edge, along the foot of these cliffs, round
the point of the promontorj', and ascending upward
from thence to the very borders of the Citadel itself.
It is divided into the Lower and Upper Town, the
former including all that is below the ramparts, or
fortified lines, the latter comprehending all that is
above and within that barrier. Besides these, there
is a large suburb, separated from Quebec proper, by
the ramparts, and some open lawn beyond these on
the west, called the Suburb of St. Roch, on the right
bank of the river St. Charles, the ordy portion of the
whole that is built on level ground.

On landing at Quebec, therefore, the traveller
has to wind his way up through steep, narrow, and
tortuous streets, with still narrower alleys on his
right and left, till he reaches the fortified line or
barrier. Here he enters by Prescott Gate, on the
right of which, after passing through it, he sees the
imposing structure of the New Parliament House,
with its lofty cupola and fine architectural front ;
and on the left, a double flight of mean and straggling
wooden steps, leading to one of the oldest streets, as

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192

an avenue to the Place d’Armes. Going across this
last, he passes the English and French Cathedrals,
the Government OtBces, and Palace of Justice, on his
right ; and has the site of the old Castle of St. Lewis,
and the platform overlooking the harbour, on his left.
Passing by these, and continually ascending for about
half a mile beyond, he reaches the ramparts and
gates on the upper side of the City; and going
through these, he comes to the open lawn in front of
the glacis, beyond which is the Suburb of St. Roch,
on the level ground along the southern bank of the
St. Charles river.

The plan of the City is as irregular as the greatest
enemy of symmetry could desire. The steepness of
the ascent from the river to the plain abovej is no
doubt one cause of this, because it was only by making
the ascending streets winding and tortuous, that thev
could be got over at all; but besides this, the
inequalities in the surface even of the Upper Town,
led to other irregularities in the form and direction
of the streets ; while the large space occupied by the
old religious establishments, still further curtailing
the lines in different directions, so cut up the area,
that there is not a single street in all Quebec, which
can compare, in length, breadth, or general good
appearance, to the King Street of Toronto, or the
Notre Dame of Montreal. The streets of Quebec
are, therefore, in general, short, narrow, crooked,
steep, wretchedly paved in the centre, still worse
provided with side-walks, and not lighted with lamps
at night. The private dwellings are in general des-
titute of architectural beauty, and small and incommo-
dious ; some few are of wood, none of brick, but the

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193

greatest number are of rough-hewn stone, with high
steep roofs, containing a double row of projectino-
garret windows, very lofty chimneys, and the roofs
principally covered with sheets of bright tin. The
shops are also small and mean, and greatly inferior,
in the extent and variety of their contents, to those
of Montreal and Toronto; though the prices charged
are, as we thought, higher here than in either of
these.

The public buildings are scattered over the City
with so much irregularity, that their position seems
to be as much the effect of accident as design. Seve-
ral of them, however, are so prominently placed, and
advantageously seen, that they relieve, in some degree,
the general monotony of the mass of ordinary houses,’
and are thus far ornamental to the town ; while the
spires of the churches, the dome of the Parliament
House, and other elevated points rising from the
general surface, with their tinned roofs glittering in
the sun, give a liveliness and variety to the picture
presented by the City, from every point of view,
which no other place in Canada, and indeed few
places on the globe present.

The earliest of the public buildings erected in
Quebec, was undoubtedly the Castle of St. Lewis,
of which Champlain laid the foundation, on the 6th
of May, 1624. The position chosen for it was a most
commanding one; on the very edge of an almost
perpendicular precipice of rock, 200 feet above the
river, yet close to its edge ; as, between the cliff and
the stream, there is only just room enough for one
narrow avenue, called Champlain Street. The
Castle erected here, was regarded as the Palace of

194 -

can AD A.

the French Governors, who received in it the fealty
and homage of the several Seigneurs holding their
lands according to the feudal tenure of the times.
Nor is this practice discontinued ; for, according to
Mr. Hawkins, in his Picture of Quebec, the Sove-
reignty of England having succeeded to that of
France, with all its ancient rights and privileges, the
King’s Representative, in the person of the English
Governor, receives the same homage at the present
day, as was paid by the Seigneurs of former times ;
this being one of the conditions on which the feudal
tenure is sustained. His words are these —

‘‘Fealty and homage is rendered at this day (1834) by the
Seigneurs to the Governor, as the representative of the Sovereign,
in the following form : — His Excellency being in full dress, and
seated in a state-chair, surrounded by his staff, and attended by
the Attorney-General, the Seigneur in an evening dress, and
wearing a sword, is introduced into his presence by the Inspec-
tor-General of the Royal Domain and Clerk of the Land Roll.
Having delivered up his sword, he kneels on one knee before the
Governor, and placing his right hand between those of the Gover-
nor, he repeats aloud the ancient oath of fidelity ; after which a
solemn act is drawn up in a register kept for that purpose, which
is signed by the Governor and Seigneur, and countersigned by
the proper officers.”

In this Castle the French and English Governors
resided till 1809, when it was found necessary to
erect a temporary new building for their use, while
the old one underwent repair ; and 10,000^. were
expended for this purpose under the administration
of Sir James Craig. After this it continued to be
the seat of government as before ; and all the pro-
clamations and ordinances issued, and all the messao-es
sent to the legislative assemblies by the Governor in

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195

the King’s name, were dated from the Castle of Que-
bec. It was also the scene of all the public levees
and private entertainments of the Governors and
their families ; and was therefore the constant resort
of all the gay and fashionable society of the Province.
In 1834, however, this ancient edifice was entirely
destroyed by a fire, which broke out on the S3rd of
January, in the depth of winter, when Lord Aylmer
occupied it as his official residence ; and notwith-
standing every exertion made to save it, the thermo-
meter being at 22° below zero, and the fire-engines
only capable of being worked by a constant supply
of warm water, the castle was soon reduced to ashes.
It has never since been rebuilt ; but Lord Durham,
during his short stay here, had the site cleared of
the ruined heaps that still covered it, and the whole
area of the former edifice levelled, floored with wood,
and converted into a beautiful platform, with a fine
iron railing at the edge of the precipice, making it
one of the most beautiful promenades imaginable —
commanding an extensive view of the St. Lawrence
down as far as the Island of Orleans — the harbour
filled with ships immediately before it, and the oppo-
site bank of the river, with Point Levi, the village of
D’Aubigny, and the road leading up through one
continuous line of cottages to the Falls of the Chau-
diere. Nothing could exceed the beauty of this, as
a marine picture, during the period of our stay here ;
as at that moment there were no less than six ships
of war assembled for the purpose of holding a court-
martial on Captain Drew, R.N., known as the cut-
ter-out of the Caroline Steamer from the American
shore, at the time of the late Canadian rebellion.

o 2

These ships were the Winchester, Admiral Sir
Thomas Harvey, the Vestal, Cleopatra, and Croco-
dile frigates, and the Pilot brig. In addition to
these, there were not less than 300 sail of merchant
ships anchored in the stream, 16S of which arrived
in two successive days, September 14th and 15th,
and at least 100 more lay alongside the quays and
wharfs. As the weather was beautifully fine, and
the country still verdant all around, the sight of so
many ships seen from a height of 200 feet above the
river, with the fine extent of country opposite, thickly
dotted with villages and hamlets of the purest white,
and the grandeur of the mountains in the distance
fading away into a lighter and lighter blue, till
scarcely distinguishable from the azure sky of the
far horizon, was beautiful and magnificent beyond
expression.

The Parliament House comes next, in the order
of its importance among the public buildings of
Quebec. The site on which this stands is of even
earlier date than that of the Castle of St. Lewis ;
there being good reason to believe that it occupies
the first spot of ground which was cleared by Cham-
plain, for his fort, on founding the City, in 1608.
Here, too, as at the Castle, the site stands on a mass
of rock made level by art, and extending to the brink
of a perpendicular precipice, of about 100 feet above
the river, the narrowest part of which is commanded
by its guns. Along the edge of this precipice,
beyond the area occupied by tbe Parliament House,
still runs the Grand Battery of Quebec, the prome-
nade on which, and the view from its platform, is
scarcely inferior to that already described on the

QUEBEC.

197

site of the old Castle of St. Lewis. On this spot,
originally cleared for a fort, the palace of the Bishop
was subsequently erected ; and a portion of the old
episcopal residence still continues there ; but the
greater portion of it is occupied by the New Parlia-
ment House, begun about ten years ago, and not yet
completed, though promising, when finished, to form
one of the most perfect of the public buildings of the
City.

In general appearance it resembles the Royal
Mint, on Tower Hill. There is a centre of about
200 feet in length, and two wings coming out at
right angles from the extremity of the centre, so as to
form three sides of an oblong, the fourth side being
open towards the street, with a level space in front,
elevated about six feet above the street, and railed
in. The architecture is of the Ionic order, with a
good portico and pediment, containing the royal
arms in front ; the centre is surmounted by an octa-
gonal tower, dome, and lantern, well proportioned
in all its parts. The whole edifice is built of a
brownish sandstone, well hewn, and excellently put
together, and it is three stories in height. In the
centre, what was formerly the chapel of the Bishop’s
Palace, has been converted into the Commons House
of Assembly, as St. Stephen’s Chapel was for the
House of Commons in England.

The dimensions of this Hall are 65 feet in length
by 36 in breadth, and the height is about 30. The
arrangement of the interior resembles that of the
House of Commons at home— the Speaker’s Chair
being at the head of the Hall, raised 1 8 inches above
the floor; the scarlet-cloth covered table for the

CANADA.

IDS

clerks, and the mace, being before him. The seats
for the members are ranged down the sides, rising in
gentle stages of elevation one behind and over the
other ; leaving the centre of the floor open for the
egress and ingress of members. The parties of the
administration and the opposition sit, therefore, here
as in England, face to face, with the Speaker at the
head of the Hall, looking down the centre — a much
better mode of arrangement for a deliberative assembly
than the semicircular or theatrical form, universal
throughout the United States of America. Here,
however, as in the States, each member has his desk
and drawers, with pen and ink before him. This,
though convenient no doubt to the members them-
selves, is found to be productive of long speeches,
and long readings of documents, which, in the absence
of such desks, drawers, and conveniences, would not
be so practicable. The number of members was
about ninety when the Assembly was sitting, and for
this small number there is ample accommodation.
Below the bar, where the sergeant-at-arms sat to
preserve order, the public were admitted to hear the
debates, and a hundred persons might be accommo-
dated there ^ while in a gallery above, overhangin***
that space, and confined to the end of the Halk
another hundred might be easily accommodated. In
the hours of meeting, from three o’clock in the after-
noon till midnight, and often beyond, as well as in
all the forms of the House, the custom of England
was followed. The whole aspect of the interior is
much better, however, than that of the present
English House of Commons j the Speaker’s Chair
especially is far more elegant, and the royal arms

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199

embossed, coloured, and gilded, on the panelling of
the Chair, behind the Speaker’s head, with the
portraits of George the Third, by Sir Joshua Rey-
nolds 3 George the Fourth, by Sir Thomas Law-
rence; and the portraits of their several Speakers,
from the earliest who enjoyed that honour, down to
Mr. Papineau, give a richness and brilliancy to the
whole, in which our House of Commons in England
is peculiarly deficient.

Above the Hall of Assembly is the Library,
which is spacious, admirably fitted up, and furnished
with a collection of more than 10,000 volumes. The
Library is still more valuable for the quality of its
books than for their numbers ; and it is thought, that
there does not exist anywhere on this continent, a
collection so rich in old, rare, and valuable works as
this. On looking over it, which I was permitted to
do at leisure, on my visit there, I was surprised to
see so many of this description, both in English and
in French, as well as in other languages, ancient and
modern, and this not confined to any one branch of
literature, science, or art, but embracing the writ-
ings of the most eminent men, on almost all the
subjects that can interest the public mind. As it
is matter of great uncertainty where the future seat
of government for the United Province of Canada
will be fixed, the Library will remain here till that
is settled ; but if it should not be at Quebec, (which
is more than probable,) this valuable collection will
no doubt be transferred to the seat of Legislation
wherever that may be.

The Legislative Council Chamber is in the old
wing of the Bishop’s Palace, still remaining, and

200

CANADA.

overlooking the river St. Lawrence from its windows.
It is fitted up with a throne, decorated with crimson
velvet and gold, from which, at the opening and
close of every Session, the Governor of the Province
delivers his Speech to both Houses of Parliament,
as the Sovereign’s representative. This room also
IS ornamented with several portraits. Leading from
it, are other rooms and offices connected with this
branch of the Provincial Legislature. In the
vaulted rooms below, which formed the Refectory of
the ancient Bishops, where they exercised hospitality
to the inferior members of the Church, visiting them
on ecclesiastical affairs from all parts of the country
the Secretary of the Province had his offices and
rooms, so that every portion of this fine pile was
occupied during the sittings of the Legislature for
parliamentary purposes.

Among the public buildings in the Lower Town,
there is a Custom House, a Mercantile Exchange’
and a Public News Room, neither of which, how!
ever, present any remarkable features. Indeed all
the lower part of the town is destitute of architec-
tural beauty, though there is something romantic in
the overhanging cliffs of the Citadel, the Castle, and
the Sault-aux-Matelot, with the batteries of cannon
projecting over all these, from 100 to 350 feet above
the heads of the spectators, as they look upward
towards these several points.

the name given to the
chff on whose brow the Grand Battery is now placed.
Ihe alleged origin of the name is this : that it was
meant to commemorate the extraordinarv' leap of a
dog called Matclot, who made a « sault” from hence

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201

to the river below, and escaped without hurt. It is
probable that in early days, the river came up to
the very foot of the rock, but in process of time, a
considerable space has been gained from the stream
outward from the rock, and on this has been built
the street called Sault-aux-Matelot, (from the back
windows of the houses of which you can put out
your hand and touch the perpendicular cliff behind
them,) as well as the street of St. Paul, and the
wharfs now used for loading and landing. There is
also a Trinity House in the Lower Town, managed
by the Masters and Wardens of the Holy Trinity,
and performing nearly the same duties as are dis-
charged by the Trinity Houses of Deptford, London,
and Kingston-upon-Hull, for the regulation of pilots
and the navigation of the river.

In the Upper Town, there is a Court House, or
Palais de Justice, as it is called by the French, which
is well built of stone, occupying a most favourable
position in the open space of the Place d’Armes,
and well provided, in its interior, with every accom-
modation, in Courts, Jury Rooms, and other offices,
for the due administration of Justice, civil and
criminal, according to the laws of England. The
building is 136 feet long by 44 feet broad. It was
finished in 1804 , and its cost was defrayed by the
Provincial Legislature to the amount of 30 , 000 /.

The Jail of Quebec is very nearly in the centre
of the Upper Town, among the houses of the gentry.
It is large, strong, and commodious ; but as no system
of prison-discipline has yet been adopted here, be-
vond that of enforcing subordination, and securing
safe custody — the condition of the inmates is not

202

CANADA.

such as to fit them to return with improved charac-
ters to society. The building was erected in 1814-,
at a cost of 15,000/., and is 160 feet in length by
60 in breadth. It has a separate House of Corree-
tion for females attaehed to it, and an open Court
Yard, in which the male prisoners are allowed to
take exercise at certain hours of the day. There
is a private Benevolent Society, called “The Quebec
Jail Association,” which takes some interest in the
moral improvement of the prisoners, and their ex-
penditure is defrayed by voluntary contributions. It
is admitted that their exertions are productive of
some good ; but the want of a better system of
prison-discipline, under legislative authority, such as
prevails everywhere in the United States, is much to
be regretted.

In a large edifice at the corner of the Place
d’Armes, are concentrated nearly all the minor
Public Offices. In this building is the Museum of
the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec,
founded by Lord Dalhousie in 1824, and incor-
porated by the Legislature in 1830. It contains a
number of interesting and valuable specimens in
geology, mineralogy, and natural history, particularly
in the department of birds. But the whole estab-
lishment is suffering much from neglect 5 and nothing
that I saw at Quebec seemed to be so much in dis-
order as this Museum. There is a Mechanics’
Institute also in the City, and these have rooms and
^*^**^*’y j their numbers are few, their means
limited, and their establishment apparently as much

neglected as that of their older and wealthier
brethren.

CHAP. XV^.

Religious Establishments of the French Catholics — First Con-
vent of the Recollets — Arrival of the Jesuits — Dissolution of
their Order — Foundation of the Hotel Dieu — Description of
the building — Convent of Ursuline Nuns — Female Education
— Seminary for the education of boys — Course of instruction —
Numbers and classes — Bishop’s residence — Chapel and Library
— General Hospital of the Congregational Nuns — Catholic
Cathedral — Bishop of Nancy — Extraordinary Religious Service
of the Retraite — English Protestant Cathedral and Chapels —
Sunday Schools — School of the Royal Institution — Scandalous
Sinecure of the Master of this School — Benevolent Institu-
tions — Marine Hospital.

The religious establishments of Quebec are suffi-
ciently ancient, numerous, and interesting, to deserve
a separate chapter, and may be taken in their chro-
nological order. It is worthy of being mentioned
to the honour of the French nation, that in all their
early Colonial settlements, greater attention appears
to have been paid to the important duty of promoting
education and religion, than by any other nation that
can be named. It will he remembered that the first
efforts towards a permanent settlement of the French
in Canada, was made at the expense of a Company
of Merchants, under the royal protection, and nearly
about the same period that the first East India
Company of the English was chartered by Queen
Elizabeth. The stock-holders and directors of this
last named body, never gave education or religion a

20i CANADA.

thought in their earliest enterprises ; and when they
had attained to sovereign power in the East, the use
they made of it, as it respects education and religion,
was to prohibit both the one and the other for a long
period, excluding even the voluntary missionaries
sent out by Christian societies to preach the Gospel
at their own cost, and discouraging, by every means
in their power, the conversion of the Indian popu-
lation, until public opinion, and the power of the
press, forced them to adopt a more liberal and Chris-
tian policy. The French Company for trading to
Canada, were, on the contrary, so impressed with
the duty of providing instruction and religion for
the Indians among whom they were going to place
settlers, that they undertook, by the articles of their
first charter, in 1614, to send out, and defray the
expense of four ecclesiastics, who were to be the
teachers and preachers of the Gospel to the new
community, and who were to extend their especial
regards to the aborigines with whom they should be
placed.

These venerable Fathers, of the order of Recollets,
embarked from France with Champlain in I6l5, and
passed their first few years in visiting the sick, in-
structing the ignorant, and learning the language of
the Huron Indians. They were joined in 1620 by
three others of their order from France, and they
then built their first Seminary, on the banks of the
St. Charles river, where they remained, with some
interruptions, till 1690, when they gave up their
grounds there, at the instance of the Bishop, to
make room for a General Hospital on the spot, and
took in heu of it a smaller space within the precincts

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205

of the town of Quebec. Here they built a Church
and Convent, which they continued to occupy until
1796 , when both were entirely destroyed by fire.
Soon after this, the Order becoming extinct, the
ground was prepared for other buildings, and the
English Cathedral was afterwards erected on the
same spot, being consecrated hi 1804.

The Jesuits first visited Quebec in 1625, having
also been brought out by Champlain, in a subsequent
voyage to that in which he was accompanied by the
Fathers of the Recollet. The number of the Jesuits
who came first was three, of one of whom. Father
Breboeuf, it is said that he had such a peculiar talent
for acquiring languages, that he had learnt more of
the Indian tongues in three years, than many other
persons had done in twenty. In 1626, three other
Jesuits joined these, making, in the whole, eleven
ecclesiastics sent out from France, for a community
which then consisted of only fifty-five souls. But
their religious labours were not confined to the
Christian settlement ; they went as missionaries
among the Indians, and fi-om their ready adoption
of many of their peculiarities, became soon so fami-
liar and friendly with the various tribes, as to pro-
duce the best effects.

In 1635 , the foundation of the Jesuits’ College
were laid in Quebec, a member of their Order, who
had abandoned the world to belong to their Society,
the eldest son of the Marquis de Gamache, whose
name T^as Rene Rohault, having given 6,000 crowns
of gold from his private fortune for this purpose.
In 1640, the Church and the College of the Jesuits,
built from this pious donation, were entirely destroyed

20G

CANADA.

by fire. Both, however, were subsequently rebuilt,
and for a long series of years, up to the dissolution
of the Order in I 764 , the Jesuits continued to pro-
mote the spread of education and religion, both in
the College of Quebec, and in the villages of the
surrounding country. The last of the Jesuits, Father
Casot, died here in 1800, when the whole property
of the Order in this City fell into the possession of
the Crown ; and their spacious College, forming a
quadrangle, enclosing an open square, in the very
heart of the City, is now occupied as a barrack for
the soldiers of the Coldstream regiment of guards I
On visiting this spot, it was impossible not to be
struck with the contrast. The interior open square
formed the garden of the College, and in it, during
the Jesuits occupation, there were several large trees
of the primeval forest, which had been enclosed
when the building was first constructed, while lawn
and shrubbery filled up the intermediate parts. On
the conversion of this seat of learning and piety to a
barrack for troops, these noble trees were cut down,
the lawn and shrubbery rooted up, and the arel
converted into a hard and bare drill-ground, or
parade, for the soldiers, about 800 of whom we saw
assembled at beat of drum, within the enclosure of
this pile, originally erected for the purposes of edu-
cation, religion, and peace !

Within a year after the first foundation of the
Jesuits College at Quebec, another religious estab-
ishment was founded, for the cure of the sick, and
the aid of the aged and infirm. This was the Hotel
JJieu. It appears that, in 1636. representations
having reached 1< ranee, from the Jesuits here, of the

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207

necessity of such an establishment as this, a pious
and wealthy lady, the Duchesse D’Aiguillon, niece
to the celebrated Cardinal Richelieu, undertook at
her own private expense to found a Hotel Dieu in
Quebec, and devoted the sum of 20,000 livres to
this purpose, which donation, by the assistance of
relatives and friends, was afterwards doubled. In
addition to this, the Duchesse obtained from the
Company of Merchants, to whose charge Canada
had been assigned by royal charter, a large tract of
waste lands, the sale or rental of which would pro-
vide annual funds for the institution, and a space
amounting to about twelve acres, in the heart of the
City of Quebec, on which the Hotel Dieu was to be
erected, on which space, this ancient building and
its spacious gardens still stand.

The Duchesse D’Aijjuillon offered the charo-e
and superintendence of this institution to the Nuns
Hospitalieres of Dieppe; and three of their body
immediately consented to undertake it. The eldest
of these ladies, who was chosen as the Superior, was
only 29 , and the youngest 22 years of age; but
they were willing to brave all the dangers of the
voyage, the rigours of the climate, and the perils of
Indian warfare, for the sake of religion.

On the 4th of May, l6S9, they left France for
Quebec ; the fleet in which they sailed, bringing
with them also, a Superior and three Ursuline Nuns,
for a new Convent, and several Jesuits and Priests
for the collegiate and ecclesiastical establishments
already begun there. They landed on the 1st of
August following, and their arrival was hailed with
all the ceremonies of a grand religious fete, in which

208

CANADA.

the whole community assisted. They entered imme-
diately on their pious labours, applied themselves to
the study of the Indian languages, received the sick,
the aged, and the infirm, and encountered incredible
sufferings and privations in the performance of their
benevolent duties. A few years afterwards they
were joined by other Nuns of their Order from
France; their Hotel was completed, their Chapel
consecrated, and the sphere of their operations greatly
extended among the Indians as well as the French ;
and from that time to the present they have steadily
pursued their original objects of benevolence and
piety, many thousands of patients having obtained,
through their Institution, the comforts of sustenance
and medical care, which it would otherwise have been
wholly beyond their power to procure.

The building of the Hotel Dieu, which we were
permitted to visit freely, is seated in the lowest part
of the Upper Town, within the ramparts, between
Hope Gate and Palace Gate, and nearest to the
latter. This Gate was so called because it opened
on the Palace of the Intendant — the Civil Governor
under the French system — but the Palace itself was
destroyed during the American siege of Quebec, in
1776, and was never restored. The Hotel Dieu is
a substantial old structure, built of stone, with wings
and corridors, having three stories in height, appro-
priated to the separate wards for the male and female
sick, and to the necessary accommodation for the
Nuns and their assistants. In passing through it,
we could not but admire the neatness, cleanliness,
freshness, and order, of everything we saw ; and
rejoiced to see the comfort in which the sick, the

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209

aged, and the infirm, seemed to live in this welcome
asylum for the destitute. The Nuns are at present
about 40 in number, between the ages of 25 and 70.
Their dress is wholly white, except the veil, which is
black. Like the Sisters in charge of the Hotel
Uieu at Montreal, these are cloistered Nuns, who
never go beyond the walls of their building. They
appeared to be animated by the strongest sense of
religious duty ; and though the gates are always open
during the day, and no impediment would he offered
to any one choosing to go out, no instance has
occurred, we were told, of any of these Nuns having
attempted to leave the establishment, or even
expressed their desire so to do. Except the Lady
Superior, whose constant superintendence engages
all her time, all the Nuns take their turns in watch-
ing by night, and attending the sick by day, relieving
each other every two hours ; and it is thought that
the uniform kindness, gentleness, and good will,
which they manifest toward the sick, has as great a
share in effecting their recovery, as the medicine
they administer.

There is a beautiful Chapel attached to the Hotel
Dieu, in which mass is celebrated every morning,
and vespers said evei’y evening ; besides the regular
service on Sundays and Festivals. A splendid altar-
j)iece, representing the taking down the body of
Christ from the Cross, painted by a native artist of
Quebec, had been just finished and placed in the
Chapel; and several smaller pictures of the old
masters adorned its walls. The same arrangement
that we had witnessed at Montreal prevailed here,
by which openings from the sick-wards into the gal-

210

CANADA.

leries of the Cliapel, enabled even those who were
confined to their beds, to hear and join in the service.

About the same period of the foundation of the
Hotel Dieu, 1639, the idea was suggested, of estab-
lishing a Convent here for the education of female
youths among the Catholic population, and for the
conversion and education of the female children of
the Indians. A young widow of rank and fortune
in France, Madame de la Peltrie, was the first to
carry it into execution. Devoting her whole wealth
to this object, she obtained the co-operation of two
Ursuline Nuns from Tours, and one from Dieppe,
and accompanying them in person to Quebec, they
arrived here on the 1st of August, 1639, with the
Hospitalieres and the Jesuits already mentioned.
The details of their early struggles are full of the
most romantic interest, and show to what an extent
religious zeal and a strong sense of duty will enable
the highest-born and the most delicately-bred, to
encounter sufferings and privations which would
destroy the most robust when not sustained by the
lofty and animating principles that bore these pious
and benevolent ladies so triumphantly through their
career.

The building occupied by the Ursuline Nuns at
present, occupies the site of their original Convent,
though that was destroyed by fire in 1630, and a
second perished by the same element in 1686, everv-
thing within the walls being on each occasion con-
sumed ; so that this is the third edifice constructed
by them. It stands nearly in the middle of the
Upper Town of Quebec, not far from the English
and French Cathedrals, the Court House, and the

QUEBEC.

^211

Place D’Arraes ; and with its surrounding gardens,
covers a space of seven acres of ground. The build-
incr consists of four separate wings, forming a qua.
drangle around an open court ; its length is about
120, and its depth 40 feet ; the Chapel is 95 feet
by 45 ; in this there are several excellent paint-
ino-s by old French masters. Within the walls oi
this Convent, was deposited the body of the French
general, Montcalm, his corpse being laid in a hoi-
low pit, caused by the bursting of a shell there,
during the siege of Quebec. During the recent
administration of Lord Aylmer, as Governor in Chief
of the Province, he caused a marble slab to be placed
over the grave, with this inscription—

“ Honneur a Montcalm ! Le Destin, en lui derobant la Victoire,
I’a recompense par un Mort glorieuse !

The number of the Ursuline Nuns at present in
the Convent is about forty, besides the Lady Supe-
rior, and some few Noviciates. Here, however, as
in most of these establishments, both at Quebec and
Montreal, they find a difficulty in keeping up their
numbers. Now and then a candidate for admission
comes out from some of the religious orders of France ;
but they do not find among the Canadian females,
persons willing to undergo the labour and submit to
the discipline of the Convent, though these labours
are chiefly directed to the education of female youths
belonging to the families of Quebec and its neigh-
bourhood. So highly is the tuition given here
prized by all classes, that Protestant families send
their daughters just as freely to the Ursuline Conven
for education, as Catholics ; and it is thought that

p 2

212

CANADA.

more than three-fourths of the young ladies of Que-
bec have received their instruction here.

There is also a Seminary for the education of male
youths, which was founded by the first Catholic
Bishop of Quebec, Mons. De Laval de Montmorency,
as early as 1663. It was at first intended to educate
young men for the priesthood only ; but when the
Order of the Jesuits, who had taken charge of the
general education of the children of the community,
was dissolved by a decree of the French king in
1764 , the Directors of the Seminary opened their
Institution for the reception of all the pupils who
chose to resort to it. Since that period, a gootl
system of general education has been pursued here,
in which the children of all classes participate. Like
almost all the early buildings of this country, the
first Seminary was entirely destroyed by fire in I 7 OI ;
burnt down a second time in 1705 ; a third time
almost completely demolished during the siege of
1759 ; and a fourth time consumed by fire in I 772 .

The present buildings of the Seminary are more
extensive than any of earlier days ; these having been
enlarged and completed in 1820, from funds received
from France, consisting of the donations of pious
individuals made to the Seminary before the French
Revolution. These funds were not recovered or
made available for appropriation, till the restoration
of the Bourbons, by whom, both principal and arrears
of interest were obtained, and sent out to this country
accordingly. The building comprises four wings,
each of four stories in height ; the length of these
wings in the aggregate is nearly 400 feet, and the

QUEBEC. 213

depth of each wing about 40 feet. Attached to the
Institution is a large garden, containing seven acres
of ground, well furnished with fruits, flowers, and
old forest-trees, originally occupying this site when
the spot was first enclosed ; and from the terrace of
this garden — which approaches near the cliff, called
the Sault-aux-Matelot, on the edge of which is the
Grand Battery— the view of the river, the anchorage
of the shipping, and the Island of Orleans, is pecu-
liarly fine.

The Institution is conducted by a Board, consist-
ing of seven Directors, one of whom is the Superior,
and is elected by the others triennially. These are
assisted by three Professors of Theology, the chief
of whom is called Le Grand Seminaire ; and twelve
Professors of different branches of literature and
science, the chief of whom is called Le Pi efet des
Etudes. These are all lay-brothers, and, therefore,
under no vows which would prevent their leaving
the Institution whenever they think proper; and
their services are so far gratuitous, that they receive
no salary or perquisites of any kind, having no claim
to anything beyond food and clothing while they
remain in the Institution, and discharge the duties
allotted to them there. As the education received
here is, therefore, conducted gratuitously, so no
charge is made for instruction to the day-pupils, who
exceed 150 ; their whole payment being 20s. yearly,
10s. in the spring and 10s. in the fall, for lights and
fuel ; while the hoarders, who amount to about 150
also, pay I 7 /. 10s. annually for their board, with a
proportionate reduction for all periods of absence in
the year, exceeding eight days.

214

CANADA.

The course of education pursued here embraces
nine classes, and the usual time allowed for passing
through each class is a year; but while some
remain the whole of this period, the average time
which the pupils pass at the College varies between
five and seven yeai's. The Greek and Latin
languages and literature are taught by competent
Professors. Mathematics in all its branches. His-
tory and the Belles Lettres, and the Sciences of
Astronomy, Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Natural
Philosophy, all receive their due share ; and it is
said by those who have often witnessed the annual
exhibitions, which take place on the 15th of August,
and are usually attended by the Governor and heads
of office in the City, that there are few Colleges in
Europe, which could produce a greater number of
well-educated youths than are presented every year
to the world by the Quebec Seminary. I regretted
exceedingly that our visit to the Institution was
during the vacation, as it adjourns on the 15th of
August, and meets again on the 1st of October ; but
we saw enough for ourselves, and heard enough from
others, to satisfy us that the Institution fully deserves
the high reputation it enjoys.

The Catholic Bishop of Quebec, whose ancient
Palace is appropriated to the Legislative Council
Chamber, and whose ancient Chapel is occupied by
the Hall of the Legislative Assembly, now resides
in the Seminary ; and in his apartment there, are
preserved the portraits of the twelve venerable pre-
lates who preceded him in the episcopal office.
The Chapel of the Seminary is larger and handsomer
than any of those previously described ; and contains

QUEBEC.

215

a great number of fine pictures by ancient French
masters. The Congregation Hall, or Interior Chapel
of the Students, possesses a Library of more than
8,000 volumes, with a valuable Philosophical Appa-
ratus, and an interesting cabinet of Indian anti-
quities, minerals, fossils, and curiosities. The whole
establishment appeared to be admirably arranged,
the accommodations ample, the ventilation ^d neat-
ness of the apartments perfect, and everything con-
nected with their system of tuition and scholastic

discipline worthy of praise. ^ j

Another noble Institution of the Catholic founders
of Quebec is the General Hospital, which is seated
on the site of the first Convent of the Recollets, on
the banks of the river St. Charles, or Port or
Croix, where Cartier laid up his ships during the first
winter that he passed in Canada. This Hospital
Avas founded by the second Bishop of Quebec, Mons.
de Saint Valliere, who devoted 100,000 crowns to
the erection of the buildings ; and by his influence
obtained the application of a fund, raised for the
support of the indigent poor, to which every person
in the Colony had to contribute towards the mainte-
nance of its annual expenses. Its management,
when completed, was placed in the hands of a body
of Nuns, who were called Les Sceurs de la Congre-
gation ; but subsequently their numbers were aug-
mented by a Superior and twelve Nuns of the
Hospitalieres, from the Hotel Dieu, whmh revived
chiefly the indigent and sick of the City. These
united Sisters were subsequently incorporated as an
independent community, and they now embrace
forty.five professed Nuns, with a few noviciates.

Here, as in the Hotel Dieu, every applicant for
medical aid and relief is received until all their wards
are full ; while the sick and the infirm, the aged and
the insane, are all treated with a degree of care and
tenderness that is the subject of universal praise.
Phe Nuns sit, two at a time, in each ward, without
intermission, day and night, being relieved every two
hours ; and they appear to be cheerful and happy in
the discharge of their duties. The building is very
large, having a front of 228 feet, and the several
wings are from 30 to 50 feet in depth. The Chapel
attached to the Hospital is accessible to all the sick
wards through the gallery ; and religious services
are performed in it twice every day. The Nuns
wear a silver cross on the breast, and are said to
be more skilful than any of the Sisterhood of the
other Institutions in the manufacture of embroidery
for pontifical vestments, and adornments of altars.
The works produced by them in this way, as well
as in the manufacture of various articles of needle-
work, which are purchased by visitors, add consider,
ably to the replenishing their funds ; though these
sometimes fall short of their annual expenditure in
the maintenance of the Hospital, in which cases, aid
is sometimes granted by the Provincial Legislature,
but this is only occasional.

The Catholic Cathedral was founded here by the
first Bishop of Quebec, Mons. Frau9ois de Laval,
in 1660, and still forms one of the ornaments of the
ity. It is situated close to the Seminary, and
occupes the south side of the market square, in the
heart ol the town. Its exterior is plain, but its
tower IS lofty, and well proportioned to the edifice.

QllEBFX. 2 1 7

The length of the building is 21 6 feet, and its
breadth 108, and it will contain upwards of 4,000
persons. Its interior, though peculiar, is very much
superior to that of the Cathedral at Montreal. The
nave is very lofty, going up to the full height of the
roof; but the side-aisles are low, and a gallery or
corridor runs along within the arches that separate
the two. The high altar is superbly ornamented ;
and over it is a frame-work of wood, resembling a
colossal crown, which is richly carved and gilded,
and gives a gorgeous appearance to the whole ; while
the smaller altars in the side-chapels, and some well-
executed pictures, add to the general effect.

During our stay here, the Bishop of Nancy, from
France, whom we heard at Montreal, was constantly
engaged at the Cathedral. There was held a reli-
gious’ week, called Retraite Generale, in which he
preached every morning at 9 o’clock, to females only,
and every evening at 7 o’clock to males only ; while
in the intermediate hours, mass was said, and private
confessions, prayers, and penances were performed.
It resembled a Religious Revival, as it is called in
the United States, though not accompanied by those
vociferations which so often attend the protracted
meetings of these. I was told that in the Catholic
Church, the practice is not uncommon, of setting
aside a particular period, like this week of the
Retraite, for the express purpose of devoting it
entirely to religious exercises, in which persons
making a retreat from the world and its affairs, give
themselves up wholly to confessions, penances, fil-
ings, and prayer, by which they obtain absolution
for the past, and indulgence for the future. It was

CANADA.

218

very striking to see the crowds that attended at the
morning and the evening houi*s of the sermon, and
indeed during the whole of the day, for there was
not an interval of five minutes in which there were
not persons entering and departing. The greatest
number came from the suburbs, and from the sur-
rounding villages, and their appearance was just that
of the French peasantry on a fete day, in any of the
provinces of the north of France, with somewhat
less of hilarity, and a more subdued tone of dress
and manners.

There are four other Catholic Churches besides
the Cathedral ; the oldest is that in the Lower Town,
called Notre Dame des Victoires, which was built
in 1690 ; another called the Church of the Congre-
gation, near the ramparts ; a third called the Church
of St. Roch, in the Suburb of that name, without
the fortifications ; and a fourth, the Church of St.
Patrick, recently erected, for the use of the Irish
emigrants. All of these are spacious, well fitted
and furnished, and fully attended. The general
opinion of the Protestants here is, that there is no
diminution of zeal for the spread of the Catholic
religion in Quebec and the Provinces ; on the con-
trary, of late years, this zeal seems to have been
strengthened, and greater efforts, it is thought, are
making now, than at any former period, to confirm
the wavering in their faith, and bring new converts
into the fold, in which, it is added, they are more
than usually successful.

Since the conquest of Canada by the British,
though the Catholics have been allowed, by the terms
of their capitulation, the fullest enjuyment of the

QUEBEC.

219

exercise of their religion, and the undisturhed pos-
session of all their ancient property and revenues
connected therewith, there has been a natural desire
on the part of the conquerors to make adequate
provision for the propagation and support of the
Protestant religion. Accordingly, a Bishop s See of
the Church of England was established at Quebec;
and in 1804, the present Protestant Cathedral was
consecrated for divine worship in 1804, by the first
Protestant Bishop of the Colony, the
Dr. Jacob Mountain, who filled this office for
years, died in Quebec in 1825, at the ag® ^ 75,
and was buried within the altar of the Cathedra
that he founded and built, where a very chaste an^d
beautiful monument is erected to memory The
length of this Church is 135 feet, its breadth 7 3, and
its height within 41 feet. The height of the spire
is 152 feet, and the whole building being surrounded
with a fine open space, part of the original Place
d’ Amies, is a conspicuous ornament ot the L.ity.
In a portion of this space, is still to be seen, one of
the aboriginal trees of the forest, which occupied its
present position when Cartier first visited the spot,
now 300 years ago ; and when Champlain, near y a
century afterwards, first pitched
branches, before Quebec was founded in 1008. it
is a noble elm, of great size, and cannot be looked

upon without veneration.

During our stay at Quebec, we attended the

Episcopal Church, but remarked nothing peculiar

in the service, except that we received the impression

of its inferiority, in the talents of the clergy, to the

aeneral standard of the English church, and thought
&

220

CANADA.

there was rather more than the usual portion of
formality in the ministers, and coldness in the con-
gregations, as compared with the earnestness, zeal,
and sympathy, which we had witnessed elsewhere.

There are besides the Cathedral, four Chapels of
the Church of England, within the parish of Quebec;
the Holy Trinity, adjoining the Theatre Royal, in
the Upper Town ; St. Paul’s, or the Mariner’s
Chapel, in the Lower Town ; St. Matthew’s, or the
Free Chapel, in the Suburb of St. John ; and the
French Protestant Chapel, called St. Peter’s, in the
Suburb of St. Roch — all of which are well endowed
and well frequented. There is also a Church of St.
Andrews, connected with the Kirk of Scotland,
which was first opened in 1810, and has since been
so enlarged, that it will contain 1,500 persons,
though its regular congregation does not exceed half
that number; but it is sometimes filled on special
occasions. There is a second Scotch Church of a
smaller size, called St. John’s : and two Wesleyan
Chapels, one in the Upper Town and one in the
Lower ; so that the Protestant places of worship are
quite as numerous, compared with the population,
as those of the Catholics.

Attached to all these churches, there are Sunday
Schools, which are numerously attended by the chil-
dren of the respective congregations. There are also
some few Infant Schools, of recent introduction ;
a National School, a British and Canadian School,
and a School of the Quebec Education Society — in
all of which the children of the poor, of both sexes,
are taught gratuitously. There is an Institution for
the Deaf and Dumb, sustained by the contributions

QUEBEC.

<2<2l

of the benevolent. Of higher Protestant Schools,
there are several small private establishments for
young ladies ; the Classical School of the Rev. Dr.
Wilkie, for young gentlemen ; and all these are we
conducted and well supported. There is
tution, however, which exists only in name, though
utterly useless in reality. It is called the Grammar
School of the Royal Institution, and was meant to
be a Free School, on an endowment or foundation,
to be sustained by the Provincial Government ; hut
the following paragraph, which appeared in the Colo-
nist Newspaper, of Quebec, for the ?th of Septem-
her, 1840, during our stay there, and which, upon
inquiry, I found to he correct, will show that Colo-
nial Masters of Grammar Schools are disposed, when
they can, to follow the had examples of some of their
cl Js in the mother-country •, in reading the Reports
of Commissioners on Education and an y ^
sented to both Houses of Parliament at home, they

seem to have “ taken a leaf out of their book. Here
is the statement of the Quebec Editor—

« The public accounts, printed by order of tlie Conned

exhibit a charge for the salary of the Master of the Royal
Grammar School at Quebec, and another charge for rent of a

i nnl-room. We believe that the school in question has been
oil for the last six or seven years, if not longer, but not
rrsTarJ of the master. We believe also

Luh s scTiool is under the superintendence of that worse than
! Llv the Royal Institution. It is somewhat surprising
useless y, where the charges for instruction, in pri-

thatinacityhketh^

vate schools, are J ^e are inclined to think,

,1.«.U b. P'™> •■J ^ rf ,hl. foundUion,

.. .pp..,. .h.

CANADA.

master is anything but anxious to attract public attention, as he
has not put up a sign or any exterior mark upon the house for
which the public pays, in order to indicate the purpose to which
it is devoted. It is to be hoped that the superintendence of this
school will be taken from the Royal Institution, and that it will
be made effective for the purposes of education ; the whole history
of this Institution, from first to last, is a very fair specimen of the
jobbing and incapacity of Canadian officials. Contrast the
supineness and neglect, in the management of the Grammar
School and the Royal Institution, with the activity and energy of
the Seminary and other French Canadian institutions of learning,
and then join in the cry that the French Canadians are indifferent
to education !”

The most important of the benevolent institutions
originating with the Protestants is the Marine
Hospital, commenced in 1832, under the auspices
of Lord Aylmer, then Governor-in-Chief of the
Province, and completed sufficiently to be opened
for the reception of patients in 1834 ; at a cost of
about 30,000/. The situation chosen for this
establishment is on the banks of the River St.
Charles, just opposite to the spot where Cartier
wintered on his first voyage; and the space laid
out for the building, gardens, and grounds, cover
upwards of six acres. The Hospital is on a large
scale, having a front of 206 feet, with two wings of
100 feet each in depth. The building is of stone,
with a fine Ionic portico, the proportions of which
are said to be taken from the Temple of the Muses,
on the river Ilissus, in Greece ; and everything
connected with its exterior and interior is finished
in the best style. As the Institution makes no
distinction of creeds in its admission of patients, in
which respect it follows the liberal example of its

QUEBEC.

2^3

Catholic predecessors, the ground-floor contains a
Protestant and a Catholic Chapel, with accommoda-
tions for the ministers of each ; wards for 60 patients,
with a most complete range of kitchens, store-rooms,
and nurses’ apartments. The principal story, or
first floor above this, to which the elevated portico
leads by a double flight of steps, contains a fine
hall of entrance, apartments for the medical officers,
rooms for surgical operations, wards for 68 patients,
and a Medical Museum. The third story con-
tains the apartments for the principal nurses, with
wards for 140 patients; and the fourth contains
wards for 94 more, making in the whole, room for
362 persons. In every story there are hot and
cold baths for those who require them; with
gardens and ornamented grounds around the Hos-
pital, for the recreation and exercise of those
who are recovering. Altogether this Institution
does great honour to the City of Quebec, and its
humane and liberal inhabitants. Long may it sub-
sist, to give comfort and relief to the weather-beaten
Mariner who may be thrown sick and indigent upon
its charity ; and may increasing honours be shown to
such Institutions and their Founders, till the public <
sentiment in this respect shall be so improved, as to
lead men to honour more the Philanthropist who
cures a wound, than the Warrior who inflicts it ; and
to erect monuments to those whose chief delight it is
to save lives, rather than to those whose principal dis-
tinction it is, to have destroyed them ; when a Howard
and a Fry, a Wilberforce and a Clarkson, shall be
more honoured and more imitated, than a Napoleon,
or a Catherine, a Caesar or an Alexander.

CHAP. XVI.

Visit to the Citadel with the Chief Engineer — General descrip-
Uon of the Fortifications — Lines and Ramparts enclosing' the
Quebec— Visit to the Plains of Abraham— Death of
Wolfe-^eeting with the British Admiral at Wolfe’s Monu-

Cove-Inspection

of the Heights ascended by the troops — Return to Quebec by
the bank ol the river— Scenes of poverty, filth, and intem-
perance, by the way— Visit to the Joint Monument to Wolfe
^d Montcalm-Earlier French Tribute to the memory of
Montcalm— Correspondence of Bougainville and Pitt on this
subject— Curious Antiquity of Quebec— Le Chien d’Or.

Devoting a day to the examination of the Citadel
and Fortifications of Quebec, we had the advantage
of being accompanied over the whole by the Chief
Engineer, whose knowledge of all the points of
interest, and the courtesy with which he conducted
us everywhere that we desired to go, added much to
the gratification of our visit.

The Citadel occupies the crown of the hill, called
ape iamond, the almost perpendicular face of
which is presented towards the river St. Lawrence,
m the narrowest part of the stream, and, therefore,
opposes a formidable barrier to the passage of any
vessels up or down, should it be desired to prevent

'^hich is a mass of dark-coloured
Slate, abounds with quartz crystals found in veins.

QUEBEC.

225

of great brilliancy, and hence its name, Cape Dia-
mond. It is 350 feet in height above the river,
steep on all sides towards the stream, which washes
its base, on the north, the east, and the south, and
level only towards the west, where the Plains of
Abraham form a high table-land, even with the top-
most height of the Citadel, and extending for several
miles in a westerly direction. The Citadel is about
200 feet above the level of the Upper Town of
Quebec, and more than 300 above the Lower Town,
so that the commanding view from its telegraphs,
extending for many miles up and down the river,
and covering a space of many leagues in every direc-
tion of the land, is magnificent indeed.

In going to the Cit^el from Quebec, you wind
up a hill from the ramparts to the glacis, passing, on
the way, batteries and sentries thickly placed ; and
reaching the top of the hill, you enter first the outer
ditch of the ravelin, commanded on all sides by guns
and musketry, then into the principal ditch of the
works, which extends all round the Citadel, and
which is also commanded on all sides by cannon,
and covered-ways for small arms. From this, you
enter the Citadel itself, by a noble gateway of Doric
architecture, called the Dalhousie Gate. In passing
through this, the visitor is enabled to form a com-
petent idea of the amazing strength of the works, in
which he sees walls of solid masonry thirty feet in
height, and five feet in thickness, with casemated
chambers for the garrison, vaulted and rendered
bomb-proof. In the interior are spacious magazines,
storehouses, and every other necessary provision for
an extensive force ; the whole area of the Citadel

CANADA.

22(J

covering about forty acres. All around the lines
v?hich encompass it, are formidable batteries pointed
in every direction, with numerous sally-ports, covered-
ways for protecting the ditches, and for passing from
one part of the Fort to another, and all executed in
the best and strongest manner.

Along the brink of the precipice overhanging the
river, is a fine range of buildings, forming the
officers’ quarters, and commanding one of the most
varied and beautiful views that can be conceived.
From the windows of their mess-room, we could see
not less than 200 vessels all lying at anchor, 350 feet
below us, in the St. Lawrence, and among them, the
squadron of Admiral Sir Thomas Harvey, consisting
of six ships of war ; while the distant hills of Maine
and New Hampshire, in the United States, could be
distinctly seen in the southern horizon, with a beau-
tifully undulated country between, speckled over with
villages and cottages innumerable. From the ffag-
stafF near by, at which the telegraph is worked, the
eye extends in the opposite direction of north, to the
extremest verge of civilization ; as the last range of
hills seen in that quarter, form the present boundarv
of the white settlers, there being nothing between
that and the north-pole, but the wandering tribes of
Indians, and the few stations of the Hudson’s Bay
Company for collecting their furs. In the centre of
the Citadel is the open ground for parading the
troops, but this, instead of being level, has a slight
convexity, in the gently rounded surface of the rock.
It has been thought that this would be a disadvan-
tage, in the case of shells being thrown into the
Fort, as, alighting anywhere on this convexity, they

QUEBEC.

would roll towards the quarters of the officers and
men, or to the batteries on the lines, and there ex-
plode, causing great destruction of life. To avoid
this, it is intended to level this protuberance, and
give it rather a gentle concavity, so that all shot or
shells falling here, would roll towards the centre,
instead of the edges, and there become comparatively
harmless. It may give some idea of the cost of such
works in general, to state, that the lowest estimate of
the amount for which this surface of the parade-
ground could be thus levelled or rendered slightly
concave, is 20,000^. sterling.

Besides the Citadel, which is deemed impregnable,
so long as provisions and ammunition should hold
out, and no treachery exist in the camp, the whole
of the Upper Town of Quebec is surrounded by
fortified lines, the circuit of which extends about
three miles. These works consist of elevated ram-
parts, on which are formidable batteries, at different
points, connected by bastions and curtains. These
go towards the river, right through the heart of the
City, dividing the Upper Town, which is within the
lines, from the Lower Town, which is without them;
while on the land-side, they pass between the City
and the Suburbs of St. John and St. Roch, with an
open grassy space beyond the ramparts, on which no
houses are permitted to be built. In these fortified
lines, there are five gates of communication, open
from sunrise to midnight, namely, St. Lewis, St.
John’s, Hope, Palace, and Prescott Gates. Over
the whole of the lines, is a beautiful promenade along
the ramparts, with tall poplar trees planted between
the guns, seats or benches for the public use, and

228

CANADA.

the enjoyment of pure air, and as extensive and
varied a prospect as the most ardent lover of the
picturesque could desire. The number of guns
mounted on the lines, and in the various batteries
within the town, are about 100, and those in the
Citadel about 80. There are two battalions of the
Guards here, in garrison, the Grenadiers and the
Coldstream, about 900 of each, with some artillery,
engineers, sappers, and miners, and everything is
kept in a state of perfect readiness for defence.

After inspecting the Lines and the Citadel, we
were taken by one of the sally-ports from the latter,
out on the narrow path which leads along the brow
of the hill without the walls, looking down to the
St. Lawrence. After a dizzy walk of half a mile
along this edge of the cliff, where the slightest false
step would have sent us down a height of 300 feet,
we came to the remains of the old French lines,
within which the army of Montcalm was entrenched,
previous to their coming out to give battle to Wolfe
and his troops in the Plains of Abraham, in 1759.
From hence we extended our walk out to thesa
Plains, and went first to the spot were Wolfe is said
to have received his death-wound. It is a piece of
rock, now in the centre of an enclosed field, and not
far from the well, from which water was brought to
him in his dying moments to cool his burning thirst.
The spot has been recently enclosed. Lord Aylmer
having been the first to show it this mark of respect ;
and over it he caused to be erected a small plain
column of dark stone, without even a capital, having
engraved on it simply these words —

“ Here died Wolfe victorious.’’

QL'IiBEC.

^ 2^29

We met, at this monument, the gallant Admiral
Sir Thomas Harvey, commanding the Winchester,
and now here with the naval squadron in the St.
Lawrence, accompanied hy his flag-captain ; and
enjoyed an agreeable ramble with them over the
Plains.

The space beyond the spot where Wolfe fell, and
on which he formed his troops for the attack, is now
laid out as a Race Course. On the inner border of
this, a line is formed of four large martello towers,
with circular walls of immense thickness towards the
outer quarter, from which they might be attacked,
but so thin and weak towards the Citadel, that if
they were to be taken by an enemy, they might be
battered down with the greatest ease by the guns
there. They have each ports for guns in the central
story, and a large sweeping gun on the top, so placed
as to be capable of being turned to any point of the
horizon, so that this line of towers presents a formid-
able outwork of protection to the Citadel on the land-
side. If such works had existed in Montcalm’s day,
he might have defied ten times the force that Wolfe
brought against him ; but Quebec was not then in
anything like the perfect state of defence in which it
has since been placed.

From the Plains of Abraham we advanced towards
the steep and almost precipitous cliffs, which rise
upward from the water to the edge of this level
platform, and were shown the places where the sol-
diers scrambled, or rather climbed and dragged
themselves up by the roots and branches of shrubs
and trees, with their muskets and knapsacks ready
for the fifcld ; and also the spot where the intrepid

CANADA.

230

sailors of the fleet dragged up the only piece of can-
non, a six-pound fieldpiece, that was used on the
part of the British in the action ; and we could not
but admire the dauntless energy and patient perse-
verance, which must have been necessary to accom-
plish such an undertaking.

From hence we descended by an exceedingly steep
and winding road to the spot called Wolfe’s Cove, from
its being the place of the General’s landing with his
gallant hand, before ascending the heights. Looking
up from thence along the steep acclivities leading to
the Plains — for this winding road, down which we
came, did not then exist — we could not wonder that
Wolfe should say, as it is recorded of him, to Capt.
Donald M’Donald of Frazer’s Highlanders, the
officer who commanded the advanced guard of the
Light Infantry, “ I don’t believe there is any possibi-
lity of getting up, but you must do your endeavour.”
At the Cove there is at present a large timber-yard,
where rafts from the river are collected, and at which
ships take in their lading, similar establishments
lining the shores of the St. Lawrence on both sides
for several miles above Quebec. On the steep hill
descending to it, we met a great number of little
carts, filled with chips for firewood, drawn some-
times by one, and sometimes by two dogs in harness,
attended by boys as drivers. The cruelty inflicted
on these poor brutes, by the heavy loads they were
compelled to draw, and the severe use of the whip to
urge them on, was most painful to witness j though
the boys, when remonstrated with on the subject,
appeared to evince so much surprise, as to lead us to
believe that such complaints were quite new to them.

QUEBEC.

<231

From Wolfe’s Cove we returned to the town, by
the lower road as it is called, coming through a long,
narrow, and straggling suburb, called Champlain
Street, which extends itself for two or three miles,
at the foot of the Heights of Abraham, the breadth
between the cliffs and the river being rarely more
than fifty feet. As this quarter is the resort of
sailors, lumber-men, and newly-arrived emigrants, it
presents a fearful scene of disorder, filth, and intem-
perance ; and we thought that in this comparatively
short drive of less than an hour, we saw more of
poverty, raggedness, dirty and disorderly dwellings,
and taverns and spirit shops with drunken inmates,
than we had witnessed in all our three years’ journey
through the United States. There could not have
been less than a hundred openly licensed houses of
this description in this single street. We were
assured that the number of places at which spirits
are sold illicitly, exceed even the licensed houses ;
and these, as might be expected, are the most mis-
chievous and disorderly of the two, being kept by
the most reckless characters, and without the slightest
check or responsibility. Everyone here complains
of this, but no one sets about its reform, who has
the power to effect it. The Temperance Societies,
of which there are two in Quebec, call the public
attention to the subject from time to time, but the
Government are indifferent to the matter ; and the
municipal authorities seem to think the paltry reve-
nue afforded by the sale of spirits and licenses, of
more importance than the misery which it brings in
its train *, accordingly, no one who desires a license
and will pay for it, is refused. There are thus, at

CANADA.

^232

the present (ime, about 200 licensed taverns, and
nearly the same number of licensed groceries, at
which spirits are sold, within the city and suburbs
of Quebec ; add to this one-half the number of
unlicensed spirit-shops, which is deemed much below
the truth, there will be about 600 places at which
this destroying poison ts sold, in a population of
30,000 at the utmost, including all the seamen and
boatmen in the port. Supposing families to consist
generally of five persons, this would make one spirit-
shop to every ten families in the place ; while of the
butchers, bakers, clothiers, and furnishers of the
town, there is not probably one to every hundred
families ! so that the poisoners of the health and
morals of the community — two-thirds of whom are
openly licensed by the public authorities, and the
other third tolerated and permitted by the same
power — are ten times more numerous in proportion
to the whole population, than they who supply
wholesome food, raiment, and furniture ; and fifiy
times more numerous than those who administer
education or religion ! I No wonder, therefore, that
a community should remain poor, ignorant, and demo-
lalized, the great mass of whom are so powerfully
affected by the evil influences, and so slightly brought
within the sphere of the good.

We terminated our day’s excursion by returning
through the Upper Town, and visiting, in our way,
the Monument erected in a portion of the Govern-
ment Garden, to the memory of Wolfe and Montcalm.
1 his is a chaste and well-proportioned obelisk, of
the Egyptian shape, built of grey stone, standing
within the garden mentioned, and on the slope that

QUEBEC.

233

is open towards the river, so that it is distinctly
visible from thence. Its pedestal is 13 feet square,
and on this reposes a sarcophagus of the Roman
style, 7 feet in height. On this is placed the obelisk,
which is 6 feet in diameter at the base, and 45 feet
in height, making the whole elevation 65 feet from
the ground. On the north front of the sarcophagus,
looking towards the land-side, is the word Montcalm,
pointing in the direction from which he advanced to
meet the enemy ^ and on the south front, looking
towards the river, is the word Wolfe, equally indi-
cating the quarter by which this General advanced
to the attack. A Latin Inscription records their
equal bravery, and similar death, and dedicates this
Monument of their common fame, to history and to
posterity.

The monument was designed by Captain Young,
of the 79th Highlanders ; and its erection was com-
pleted by Lord Dalhousie, on the morning of the
day on which he quitted the Province for Lngland,
at the close of his administration, accompanied by
his successor. Sir James Kempt, on the 8th of Sep-
tember, 1828. It should be added, that the idea of
erecting this joint monument to the memory of Wolfe
X and Montcalm, was first suggested by Lord Dalhousie,
\ who headed a subscription-list to raise the funds ;
pvhich was speedily followed up by the subscriptions of
all ranks and classes of persons in Quebec, those of
French, as well as those of British origin, and
Catholics as well as Protestants. The foundation-
stone of the monument was laid by His Lordship,
on the 15th of November, 1827, with masonic and
military ceremonies j and the occasion was honoured

^34

CANADA.

with the presence of a veteran of 95 years old, Mr.
James Thompson, who had fought in the army of
Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham, and who witnessed
the death of his General, being probably the last
remaining survivor of that eventful day.

Long, however, before any English person had
thought of raising a monument to the memory of
General Wolfe, at Quebec, the French troops, who
served in Canada with Montcalm, subscribed their
means to provide a monument for their General in
the country in which he fell. This occurred within
less than two years after the battle in which he was
killed; as in March, I 76 I, Mens, de Bougainville,
then a member of the Academy of Sciences in Paris,
wrote an interesting letter to Mr. Pitt, (afterwards
Lord Chatham,) enclosing to him the copy of an
Epitaph, written by the Academy of Inscriptions
and Belles Lettres, for Montcalm’s tomb, and asking
the permission of the British government to have a
marble tablet, with this epitaph, placed in the Ursu-
line Convent at Quebec, where the remains of Mont-
calm were deposited in the grave opened for him by
the bursting of a shell ; apologizing, at the same time,
for taking off the minister’s attention for a moment
from more important concerns, but justifying it by
the elegant compliment, that “ to endeavour to im-
mortalize great men and illustrious citizens, was, in
effect, to do honour to himself.” The reply of Mr.
Pitt to this application, in which he “ communicates
with pleasure, the King’s consent to have this honour
done to the illustrious warrior,” contains this beau-
tiful passage — “ The noble sentiments expressed in
the desire to pay this tribute to the memory of their

QUEBEC.

235

General, by the French troops who served in Canada,
and who saw him fall at their head, in a manner
worthy of him, and worthy of them, cannot be too
much applauded. I shall take a pleasure in facili-
tating a design so full of respect to the deceased ^
and as soon as I am informed of the measures taken
for embarking the marble, I shall immediately grant
the passport you desire, and send orders to the
Government of Canada for its reception.” The
marble was immediately executed, and shipped for
Canada, under the auspices of the British govern-
ment, and in an English vessel ; but unfortunately,
she never reached her destination, nor was ever more
heard of after leaving her port, so that this generous
design was never completed, until the Earl of Dal-
housie, moved, it is said, to the undertaking, by a
perusal of this correspondence, conceived the idea
of uniting the names of Wolfe and Montcalm, in a
monument that should do equal honour to the
memory of both ; and which will, no doubt, be pre-
served and venerated as long as Quebec shall con-
tinue to exist.

The only other public monument, or rather
monuments, to public men, existing in Quebec, except
that to the first Protestant Bishop, as mentioned in
the description of the English Cathedral Church, is
one, in the same edifice, to Lieutenant-General
Hunter, Governor of Upper Canada, and Com-
mander-in-Chief of the Forces in both Provinces, who
died in Quebec in 1805; and another to the memory
of Mr. Thomas Dunn, one of the oldest settlers in
the Colony, who for many years had filled the im-
portant offices of executive and legislative councillor.

CANADA.

2:3G

and twice administered the government of the Pro-
vince in intervals between succeeding Governors,
and who died here on the 15th of April, 1818, in
the 88th year of his age. The remains of the Duke
of Richmond, then Governor of Canada, who died
of hydrophobia, the torments of which he bore with
surprising fortitude for a long period before his
death, which occurred on the 28th of August, 1819,
are buried beneath the altar of the Cathedral Church ;
but though his public and private character made
him an object of universal esteem while living, and
his death was lamented by all classes, no monument
has yet been placed over his grave, either by the
people, the government, or his wealthy and powerful
relatives and friends in England.

Before we returned to our hotel, we went to see
one of the antiquities or curiosities of Quebec, called
Le Chien d’Or. It is in front of what was once the
Freemasons’ Hall, but is now the office of the Quebec
Mercury. Over the door of this edifice, is inserted
a large stone slab, with a dog gnawing a bone, sculp-
tured in relief, and gilded. Around this figure is a
square frame cut out of the stone, on the top of
which frame, or border, is the first line, and at the
bottom, underneath the figure of the dog, the other
three lines of the following verse, engraved in the
old style of inscriptions, in Roman capitals, with the
V for Uy and other marks of antique orthography
and execution —

Je suis un Chien, qui ronge Tos :

En le rongeant Je prends mon repos.

Uii terns viendra, qui n’est pas venu.

Que Je mordray qui m’aura mordu.”

QUEBEC.

237

The history of this inscription is characteristic of
the times in which it occurred. Mons. Philibert,
a rich merchant of France, resided here in 1712,
when Mons. Begon was the Intendant. The former
having received some injuries from the latter, which
his power and influence made it dangerous for him
to resent, placed this gilded dog and inscription
over his door. The allusion in the last two lines,
being supposed to point to Mons. Begon, one of the
French officers of the garrison took it upon him
to avenge the insult, by stabbing Mons. Philibert
through the body with his sword, in the open street,
of which wound he died. The assassin made his
escape, and left the Province, no doubt abundantly
provided for by the Intendant ^ but he did not escape
retribution, for the brother of the murdered mer-
chant, comina; out from France to settle his affairs,
and learning that his murderer had gone to the East
Indies, he undertook a voyage there in search of
him, and meeting him in the streets of Pondicherry,
he challenged him on the spot, where they fought
with swords, till the assassin of the merchant was
killed by the hand of his brother. This act was
universally applauded, by the chivalric but anti-
christian spirit of the age, in which, forgiveness of
injuries, instead of being regarded as a virtue, was
stigmatized as a crime ; and, unhappily for mankind,
we are not much wiser or better, in that respect, at
present, in the age in which we live, than the genera-
tions that lived before Christianity was preached or
known.

CHAP. XVII.

Commerce of Quebec — Ships, Tonnage, and Cargoes — Large pro-
portion of Wines and Spirits imported — Articles of Export,
nature and quantities — Great increase of Immigration during
the present year — Municipal Government — Population —
French and English society in Quebec — Newspapers — Political
parties — Public amusements — Picture Gallery — Painting of
Indians — Tribe of Hurons — Castes and names — Spread of the
Catholic religion in America — Recent arrival of several com-
panies of Nuns — Crowded Temperance Meeting in the
Parliament House — Statistics of Intemperance in the City of
Quebec — Expenses of Jails, Hospitals, Asylums, and Paupers
— Coroner’s Inquests — Proportion of criminals from drinking —
Execution of a British seaman for murdering a marine —
Efforts of the Catholic Bishop and Clergy in favour of
Temperance — Climate of Quebec— Health of the Canadian
peasantry.

The military importance of Quebec has hitherto
occasioned it to he most generally thought of, and
spoken of, as a fortress of great strength, and the
principal citadel of our North American possessions.
But it will henceforth be regarded in another and a
more interesting point of view ; namely, as a port of
entry for the Commerce of Europe. Of the present
trade of Quebec, the following facts, compiled from
the Official Returns of the Exports and Imports
for the last year, 1839, will furnish a tolerably
accurate outline; The ships that arrived at Quebec
in that year, with their tonnage and men, were as
follows—

QUEBEC.

239

Country.

Ships,

Tons,

Men,

Value of
Cargoes,

Great Britain . .

751

270,894

10,750

£1,806,920

Ireland . , . .

179

57,845

5,425

18,507

British N. America

125

14,352

655

25,588

United States . .

17,542

620

18,940

France • . . .

4,702

173

3,053

Hamburgh • . .

2,294

19,663

British West Indies

1,376

206

Foreign West Indies 7

1,632

354

Portugal . . .

579

766

Gibraltar . . .

421

4,412

Russia . . . .

722

2,500

South America

746

5,082

Amsterdam . .

490

000

Sicily . . . .

784

Totals .

1,147

373,669

17,985

£1,904,775

It is remarkable, and at the same time painful to
observe, that by far the largest imports into this
country are wines and spirits, which come pouring
in from all quarters, and amount to the following
quantities for the same year, 1839 —

Countries.

Wines,

Spirits.

Great Britain ....

258,597 galls.

599,728 galls.

British West Indies

106,715 „

France

67,087 „

21,254 „

Ireland

23,939 „

2,494 „

Foreign West Indies . .

30,196 „

Portugal

. 26,114 „

219 .,

British North America .

1,816 „

4,339 „

Hamburgh ....

3,880 „

United States . . .

633 „

61 „

Totals . . 378,186 766,886

which, as the population of the two Canadas does

CANADA.

240

not exceed a million in number, is more than a gallon
of wine or spirits to each living being in the Provinces,
man, woman, and child !

Of the vessels that cleared out from Quebec in
1839, with their different destinations, the folio winar
is the statement compiled from the same Official
Report of Exports and Imports for the year 1839

Countries.

Ships.

Tons.

Men.

Great Britain .

868

315,944

12,424

Ireland

. 200

66,387

2,676

British North America

107

6,166

4J4

British West Indies

7,763

Cuba

181

Azores

103

Totals .

1,184

389,544

15,579

By this it will be perceived that there were 37
ships more cleared out than were entered in, with a
difference of 15,579 tons. These extra ships were
all built in the St. Lawrence within that year, and
sailed fr6m hence on their first voyages, making that
additional number and tonnage ; but, as will be also
observed, the seamen forming the crews of the ships
leaving the port were less, by 2,406, than those which
entered into it— this diminution being occasioned by
desertions, deaths, and disabilities, all greatly accele-
rated by the immoderate use of the ardent spirits
which they assist to bring into the port.

The value of the exports is not given, but merely
the articles and the quantities of each. These are

very varied ; but the following are the most important
articles —

QUEBEC.

241

Dt?als , • . .

3,031,194 pieces

Hoops . . •

31,100

pieces

Punclicon Staves 3,083,395

>»

Oars . . .

18,064

Standard Staves

1,495,837

Handspikes

11,333

Barrel Staves .

982,176

>»

Spars . . .

3,906

Pipe Staves

482,238

Masts . . .

1,700

Battens . .

48,681

„

Tree Nails . •

5,370

White Pine

197,377

tons

Pot Ashes . .

17,335

barrels

Red Pine * .

163,933

Pearl Ashes ,

8,045

»♦

Oak Timber .

53,923

Flour , . .

48,593

Elm ....

29,571

Beef . . .

2,167

Birch Timber

1,872

Pork . . .

9,248

The commerce of the country suffered a great
stagnation by the late rebellion ; but it is fast reviv-
ing, now that confidence in the stability of the
Government is restored. Accordingly, up to the
present time, (September 19th, 1840), there have
arrived upwards of 1,000 vessels since the commence-
ment of the year. There being at least 300 more
expected in the Fall fleet, there will he more than
200 ships this year above the number of the last.
The number of emigrants arrived from the mother-
country this year is much greater than the last,
according to the following report up to the same
period, as obtained from the Emigrant Office of
Quebec —

Number of Emigrants arrived during the week ending Sept
18th, 1840 — 697; of whom there were—

From England . 167 From Scotland . 56

From Ireland . 465 Lower Ports . . 9

The whole number of emigrants reporfed up to
this period in the last year, was hut the

number up to this period in the present year is
21,914 ; showing an increase of 14,765, or more
than 300 per cent. ; and it is quite within probability
that the ratio may so increase as to make the present

CANADA

Q V>

year’s immigration greater than the last by 400 per
cent !

Quebec was incorporated as a City by an act of
the Provincial Parliament, in 1833. It was divided
into ten wards, and appointed to be governed by a
Mayor and Common Council of twenty members,
chosen by popular election. But under the late sus-
pension of the constitution, the Corporation has had
its functions placed in abeyance till restored by the
Governor-General under the new Union Bill ; and
the first organization of that body will be by the
nomination of the Governor-General and his Special
Council.

The population of Quebec is estimated to be under
30,000 ; of whom it is thought that about two-thirds
are of French descent, and one-third only of English.
What is exceedingly to be lamented for the sake of
both, is, that the families of each do not mingle
nearly so much as the English and French in Paris,
or the English and Italians at Naples. The French,
as the conquered people, might naturally be supposed
unwilling to press themselves on the society of their
new masters ; and being little inclined to learn any
language but their own, the overture toward social
intercourse would never be likely to come from them.
Add to this, their inferiority in wealth, and the pre-
judices likely to be imbibed by them on the score of
religion ; and there seems abundant reasons why the
French should not be disposed to court the English.
But I cannot perceive the same excuses on the other
side. The English, as being the more powerful,
more wealthy, and more free on the score of religious
prejudice, ought to have done everything in their

QUEBEC.

243

power to make the yoke sit lightly on the necks of
those who are obliged to wear it ; and that not
merely by preserving to them as many of their civil
and political privileges as possible, but also by invit-
ing them to their societies, learning their language,
and interchanging hospitalities. But no attempt at
this appears ever to have been made, on such a scale,
and with such constancy, as to ensure its success ;
and, therefore, the French have remained as much
separated from the English up to the present time,
as they were within the first ten years after the con-
quest. In entering the shops, or walking the streets,
French is almost the only language heard ; and by
far the greater number of the inhabitants below the
middle class neither understand nor desire to learn
English. They have their separate newspapers,
published in French — their separate fauxbourgs —
their separate cafes — and their separate churches ;
so that any amalgamation or intermarriage between
the races is very rare, and interchange of visits
between them almost as unusual.

Of the French society here, therefore, I know
much less than of the English ; but in the casual
intercourse I had with those of both sexes, during my
stay in Quebec, I should say that I received the
impression of the men being less elegant and less
informed, and the women less beautiful and less
accomplished, than their ancestors appear to have
been. It is recorded that in 17^3, four years after
the capture of Quebec, by the English under Gene-
ral Wolfe, the first presentation of any Canadian
subjects of His Majesty, took place at the court of
George the Third. He had come to the throne a

R 2

CANADA.

few days only after the news of the conquest, and
was then both young and gallant ; and on the pi*e-
sentation to him of the Chevalier Chaussegros de
Lery and his lady, who was very beautiful, the
King understanding that they were from Quebec,
said, addressing the lady — “ Madame, If all the ladies
of Canada are as handsome as yourself, I have
indeed made a conquest.” The beauty of the present
race of Canadians, as far as I could judge, from
the crowds of ladies assembled at the church and
elsewhere, is much more rare than the same quality
in the United States ; where, in an hour’s walk on a
fine day in the streets of New York, Philadelphia,
and Baltimore, one may see more female beauty than
we have yet observed in all Canada, during our three
months’ sojourn in it. The Canadians are gene-
rally admitted here, however, to be extremely amiable,
virtuous, attached to their parents and children,
faithful in all their domestic relations, and happy in
the enjoyment of their homes ; and these are quali-
ties of much higher value than mere beauty.

We enjoyed the hospitality of some very agreeable
and amiable English families, where a combination
of intelligence, courtesy, and accomplishments, con-
tributed much to our pleasure, and made us regret
that we could not prolong our stay with them ; and
I passed a very cheerful evening also at the mess of
the officers of the Coldstream Guards. We received
and repaid some morning visits, and during our three
weeks’ stay had frequent occasional intercourse with
the higher classes of the community. So far as
these opportunities enabled me to form an accurate
opinion, I was led to think that the style and tone of

QUEBEC.

245

society here was higher than among the same classes
at Montreal, and equal to that of Toronto. In both,
the same line of distinction is drawn between the
officials, the wealthy merchants, and the professional
men — who constitute the gentry ; and persons engaged
in trade ; but this does not appear to interrupt the
good feeling between them.

There are six newspapers in Quebec, three in Eng-
lish and three in French ; four of them published three
times a week, one twice, and one only once. Of the
three English newspapers, the Mercury is the advo-
cate of the Administration, the Gazette is its oppo-
nent, and the Colonist is a Reformer, but independent
of any particular party. The three French news-
papers are all opposed to the Union, and to English
predominance ; one of them. La Gazette de Quebec,
is conducted by a Scotch editor ; another, Le Cana-
dien, by a French editor ; and a third, Le Fantasque,
which is a witty and satirical sheet, like the Figaro
or Chiravari of Paris, by a Canadian. Of all these,
the Gazette, conducted by the Scotch editor, Mr.
M ‘Donald, is the most violent in its censures of the
Union Bill, and of the government both of England
and Canada ; and as it is published by one of the
principal English booksellers at Quebec, Mr. Neil-
son, it may give the English reader an example of
the style of writing and reasoning on political topics
in this journal, which exercises considerable influence
among the French population of Lower Canada, to
present the following extract from its sheet, dated
the 15 th of September, 1840.

“ Une Bagatelle.” — M. Thomson, pour engager le parlement
britanni(jue ^ charger le Bas* Canada, solvable, dune dette con-

246

CANADA.

tractee sans son consentement, par le Haut-Canada, qui est en
banqueroute, lui a dit que ce n’etait qu une bagatelle.’’ Cette
“bagatelle,” cependant, equivalent k une taxe ^-peu-presde six
millions de piastres, ce qui fait au raoins trente piastres par
famille, riche ou pauvre, que les habitants du Bas-Canada seront
forces de payer k MM. Baring, banquiers de Londres, creanciers
du Haut-Canada, parents et amis de M. Thomson, k qui les
habitants du Bas-Canada ne devaient rien. Trente piastres
seraient sans doute “ une bagatelle ” pour M. Thomson ou MM.
Baring ; mais combien de pauvres families dans le Bas-Canada
qui seront obligees de vendre jusqu’a leur derniere guenille pour
fournir cette somme a des gens qui n’y ont pas plus de droit
que le vouleur de grand-chemin qui vous demande la bourse ou
la vie!

La oh la tete du serpent a pu passer, son corps et sa queue
peuvent passer sans peine. Lorsqu’ayant la main dans la bourse
d'autrui, on en a tire six millions de piastres pour les distribuer
k ses amis et parents, pourrait-on se faire un scrupule d’y puiser
encore quelques milliers de piastres pour en garnir ses propres
poches ?

A la fin du bill d’union, par lequel le parlement britannique,
oh le Bas-Canada n’est pas represents, s’avise d’hypothequer
toutes les proprietes du Bas-Canada qui ne lui appartiennent pas
plus que ne lui appartiennent celles des anciennes colonies
anglaises qui composent maintenant les Etats-Unis, au paiement
d’une dette de six millions de piastres que le Bas-Canada n’a
jamais contractee, et dont il n’a jamais retirS et ne retirera peut-
Stre jamais aucun bSnSfice, M. Thomson a fait ajouter une petite
“bagatelle” de liste civile de 83,333/. 65 . 8c/. ou 333,333 piastres^,
qu’il a voulu soustraire au controle des representants de ceux
qui la paieraient, et a la tSte de laquelle il figure lui-mSme pour
7,777/. 155. 6c/. f, (31,111 piastres, 11 centiSmes).

Tous les gouverneurs-generaux du Canada jusqu’h M. Thom-
son, parmi lesquels il y a eu plusieurs pairs du royaume, des
dues, des comtes et autres personnes distinguSes par leur rang
ou par des services rend us k la patrie, se sont con tenths d’un
traitement annuel de 20,000 piastres, qu’ils recon naissaient
devoir a la bienveillance du peuple, quoique la plupart d’entr’eux

QUEBEC.

247

fussent, de plus, charges de famille. Mais M. Thomson, sort! de
derri^re un comptoir et n’ayant pas m6me de famille a soutenir,
lie peut pas se contenter de ce qui a suffi aux Richmond, aux
Dalhousie, etc. ; il faut qu’on y ajoute en sa faveur une petite
“ bagatelle” supplementaire de 11,1 11 piastres par an, qui apres
la “bagatelle” de six millions nest vraiment pas sensible.

Le pr6sident des Etats-Unis, qui gouverne un peuple de
seize millions d’imes, ou de quinze d seize fois la population des
deux Canadas, et qui est oblige de tenir une cour comme les
t^tes couronn^es, et de recevoir les ambassadeurs de toutes les
puissances du monde, se contente aussi de 25,000 piastres par
an, ou 6,111 piastres de moins que M. Thomson ; mais qu’est-ce
qu’un pr6sident des Etats-Unis, qui ne peut recevoir comme tel
que ce que le peuple des Etats-Unis lui accorde volontairement
sur ses propres biens, a c6t6 d’un M. Thomson, qui d Faide des
representants des propri^taires de la Grande Bretagne, dispose
en maitre absolu de toutes les propriet6s du Canada ? Car s’il
peut, sans le consentement de ceux qui se sont crus jusqu’ici les
proprietaires, en prendre pour six millions de piastres, puis pour
333,333 piastres, pourquoi ne pourrait-il pas aussi bien prendre
toute le reste ? Celui qui peut vous oter un sou de votre bien
sans votre consentement peut tout vous l oter, s’il le juge d
propos. Done, si le bill d’union de M. Thomson, adopte par le
parlement britannique, a force de loi, il n’y a pas en Canada un
seul homme qui soit r6ellement propri6taire ; les vrais proprie-
taires sont les representants de la Grande-Bretagne, qui disposent
d leur gr6 des propriet5s du Canada, qui en donnent six millions
de piastres d MM. Baring, 31,111 piastres par an d M. Thomson,
etc. Done, si cet acte du parlement britannique a force de loi,
tous les habitants du Canada sont des esclaves dans toute la
force du terme, autant que les n^gres de la Louisiane ou de la
Virginie.

The editors of the Canada journals are in
general above the standard of those who fill this
office in the provincial papers of the United States,
both in the extent of their information, and in the
gentlemanly tone of their writings, and there is

248

CANADA.

therefore less of personality, or party violence, exhi-
bited towards each other, in their columns. Th
differ as to principles, and debate these fairly, with
considerable talent on each side ; though for good
taste in the selection of subjects, and extracts, as
well as for elegance of style and acuteness of reason-
ing, we thought the French papers here superior to
the English.

Of public diversions, there are not many, and
these few are neither well conducted nor well sus-
tained. There is an excellent and capacious Theatre
Royal, but it has been closed for more than a year ;
and the smaller Theatre of St. Paul has so few
attractions, in the mediocrity of its performances,
that it is scarcely at all attended by the gentry of
either race. Concerts are occasionally given by
visitors from England and the United States, and
Mr. and Mrs. Seguin, who were recently here, were
well attended. The great attraction for Canadian
tastes, is said, however, to be the Circus, and they
are therefore visited every year by several companies
of Equestrians from New York and elsewhere, who
are attended by large numbers. Races are also held
in the summer, on the Plains of Abraham ; but
these are not productive of less evils than the same
sport in England, and the following paragraph from
the Canadian Colonist of September 7lh, the races
having terminated the week after our arrival here,
may be taken as evidence of the grounds on which
the writer condemns them —

** The races terminated on Friday ; the sport we learn was very
poor, but on the other hand, there was the average number of
casualties both in men and in horses j and the broken heads and

QUEBEC.

249

blackened eyes at the police-office, gave abundant employment
to the magistrates, varied by charges of swindling, gambling, and
pocket-picking. It is calculated that more than two thousand
working-men were kept idle during the two days of the races,
and the pecuniary loss to the community consequent upon this
must be heavy. The state of society in Canada does not seem
to us to warrant horse-racing, which is a luxury only suited to
older and more wealthy countries than ours. The sport was
introduced many years since by the military, who in general have
not much occupation ; it is but little encouraged by the better
class among the civilians, and we are not without the hope of seeing
it abandoned altogether, as the good sense of the officers ot the
distinguished corps in garrison must convince them that the
practice is not suited to a country where support for the whole
year is to be earned in the few fleeting months of summer and
autumn.”

Besides the pictures in the various Catholic places
of worship in Quebec, we saw some excellent ones
in the gallery of a native artist, who was self-taught,
but having copied from good models, chiefly scrip-
tural pieces from the old masters, he had acquired
great power, and a remarkably chaste style. At
another gallery, we saw a picture recently painted
in Quebec, representing the Presentation of a newly
created Chief of the Council of the Huron tribe,
resident at the Indian village of Lorette, in their
aboriginal costume. There was a singular mixture
of French and Indian in the physiognomies, as well
as dresses, of the chiefs represented on the canvass,
all of which were portraits taken from the life.
Indeed, so mixed is the blood of these Indians at
present, that among all the figures introduced into
this picture, there was but one of pure Huron
descent, and he is said to he the only one of the
unmixed race now remaining in the tribe. We saw

250

CANADA.

this Indian, (whose French name is Zacharie Vin-
cent, hut his Indian name is Te-la-ri-ho-lin, or, “ one
who is divided,”) and had a long conversation with
him, as he spoke French with great ease. His por-
trait was very faithfully executed, and presented a
marked difference — in the rounded face, expanded
nostrils, and high cheek-bones, as well as in his deep-
brown complexion — from the sharper features and
fairer skins of the half-breed, who had descended as
much from a French as an Indian stock. The tribe,
it appears, is divided into four sections, or companies,
namely, the Stags, the Wolves, the Bears, and the
Turtles. The Chief Warrior is of this last com-
pany, and his name is A-non-cha-wanck-ratte, or,
“ one who passes over the tops of houses.” The
Grand Chief belongs to the company of Stags, and
his name is Tza-wan-ho-hi, or, “ one who plunges
things into the water.” And the second Warrior
belongs to the company of Wolves, his name being
Ta-hour-hau-chi, or, “ the dawn of the morning.”
The medicine-man of the tribe, who is both doctor
and necromancer, is of the company of the Bears,
and his name is Ah-rat-hin-ha, or, “one who quickly
mounts an eminence.” Among the rest of the
figures are Indians having the following names —
Oh-da-wan-hort, or, “ he that has the river in his
mouth A-te-jaih-ta, or, “ the complete warrior.”
Among the females, the accoucheuse of the tribe is
called A-tir-taoux-i-ack, or, “one who agitates the
water,” while another, the Grand Chief’s daughter,
is called A-ti-a-an-onk, or, “one who takes care of
the water-spring.” Though her father belongs to
the company of the Stags, the daughter is numbered

QUEBEC.

251

among the company of the Wolves, that being her
mother’s division, and the offspring invariably follow
the caste of the mother, for, as the Indians say,
“ It is the woman who nourishes the earth.” The
Indians named here are among the principal per-
sonages of the Huron tribe, and all are introduced,
by their portraits, into the picture described. They
are faithful Catholics, and are said to fulfil their

religious duties in the most exemplary manner, being
much more improved by their commerce with the
whites, than the Indian tribes who have first come

into contact with Protestants usually are.

The pains taken by the early French visitors to
Canada, to propagate their religion, was, indeed,
much greater than to extend their trade ; and the
zeal and devotion manifested by many of the first
Catholic Missionaries is above all praise. That the
same spirit of proselytism is reviving among the
Catholics of the present day, is certain from all that
we see around us in every part of Canada, as well as
in the United States. In both, indeed, such efforts
are making to spread the Catholic faith, as to lead
to the belief that the Papal power, seeing its gradual
decay in the Old World, is anxious to secure for
itself a home and an asylum in the New. The
following is only one of many similar notices which
w'e have seen in the public prints of this continent
within the last three years. It is taken from the
Gazette de Quebec, of the 21st of September, pub-

lished during our stay in the City

« Arrivee de Religieuses de France aux Etats-Unis.—
Nous trouvons ce qui suit dans le New York Catholic Register
du 10 septembre :

CANADA.

Dames du Ctewr.— Madame de Gallitzen, de Tordre

des Dames du Sacre-Coeur, est arriv^e dans ce port Tautre jour,
sur le navire lowa^ avec sept autres dames de son ordre. Apres
avoir passe quelques Jours en cette ville, elles sont parties pour
I’ouest, ou plusieurs communautes de leur ordre sont dej^ etablies.
Nous felicitons les Catholiques de New-York sur la perspective
de voir une communaute de ces dames excellentes et accomplies
etablie dans cette ville le printemps prochain.

“ S(Kurs de la Providence de Ruille- sur* Loir. — C’est avec des
sentiments de satisfaction sincere que nous avons le plaisir d’an-
noncer I’avrivee du Cincinnati^ capitaine N • Barstow, le vendredi
4 du courant, apr^s un trajet de quarante jours, avec les dames
suivantes de Fordre de la Providence, de Ruille-^sur-Loir, diocese
de Mons, en France ; sceur Theodore, superieure ; soeurs Vincent,
Basilide, Olympie, Marie-Xavier, et A. de Liguori.

^‘Leur destination est Vincennes (Indiana), oii elles se propo-
sent d^ prendre la direction dune ecole et de visiter les malades.
Elles sont parties ce matin pour Philadelphie.”

Missionaries are also sent from Quebec and Mont-
real up the Ottawa river to the Indian tribes of the
north-west; and the reports of their proceedings,
published occasionally in the French papers, show
that these are not inferior in zeal and devotion to the
first founders and propagators of the faith on this
continent.

During our stay in Quebec, I delivered three
Courses of Lectures in succession — one on Egypt,
another on Palestine, and one on Mesopotamia and
the countries east of the Jordan ; and they were all
attended by large and constantly increasing audiences.
The first was delivered in the Methodist Church ;
but a singular condition was annexed to the grant
of this building ; namely, that no meeting in favour
of Temperance should be held in the same edifice.
This condition was exacted, as I afterwards learnt.

QUEBEC.

253

by some of the Trustees of the Chapel, who were
distillers and dealers in ardent spirits ; and who did
not wish to have their craft put in danger. This was
the only instance in which any such condition had
been proposed by any religious body in Canada
within my knowledge ; as the chapels of the same
sect had been freely offered for the delivery of my
Lectures, in Toronto, Kingston, and Montreal, and
Temperance meetings held in them at the close of
the Course. It is due, however, to the Minister
and some of the Trustees of the Methodist Church,
at Quebec, to state that they did their utmost to
remove this obstacle, but they were overruled by the
majority. Not desiring to submit to such a condition
as this, the remainder of the first Course was given
in the Court House, which the Judges pobtely offered
for that purpose. Increasing numbers, making it
impossible to find accommodation for all in this
building, the second Course was delivered in the
Theatre Royal, which had been shut up for more
than a year, and was now specially prepared for this
occasion. The Governor-General, however, having,
on application to him for that purpose, directed the
Hall of the Legislative Assembly in the Parliament
House of Quebec to be placed at my disposal, the
third Course was given there, and was more numer-
ously attended than either of the preceding, the
auditors occupying the seats of the members of the
Legislature, and the gallery ; and the Lectures being
delivered from the Speaker’s chair — the last occupant

of which was Mr. Papineau. n i •

On the last evening of our stay in Quebec, this
Hall was filled by upwards of a thousand auditors.

254

CANADA.

every foot of all the avenues and vacant spaces being
covered by persons standing, while every seat below
was occupied with others who had come to hear a
parting address from me, on leaving Canada most
probably for ever, ‘‘ On the evils inflicted on our Colo-
nies, as well as the Mother-Country, by Intemperance,
and the duty of all classes of society to assist in less-
ening them.” What added greatly to the interest of
this meeting was the fact, that the Commander of
the troops in the garrison of Quebec, deeply impressed
with the great evil of Intemperance, as the most
destructive foe of discipline and order in the Army,
had a large body of the Coldstream guards marched
down to the Parliament House, and seats were
reserved for them in the strangers* gallery ; so that
there were persons of all ranks and classes in the
community present. At Montreal and Toronto it
had been found difiicult to secure the attendance of
the more wealthy and influential classes of society to
listen to this subject ; but here, by making the
admission, though gratuitous, a privilege or favour,
granting it to those only who held tickets, and distri-
buting these chiefly among the higher classes, they
came at length to be in such request, that they were
eagerly sought after by others, and bought at a price ;
and twice the number were asked for that the room
would contain. The effect of this arrangement was
to bring together a larger number of persons than
had ever been assembled at any Temperance meet-
ing before held in Quebec ; and to bring to it
especially the classes who had hitherto kept aloof
from even hearing and considering the question.
To them, therefore, the address delivered on this

QUEBEC.

255

occasion was chiefly directed, with a view to impress
them if possible with the duty of their joining the
Friends of Temperanee, in the advocacy and promo-
tion of all such measures as might he likely, both by
precept and example, to lessen the amount of the
crime, disease, and poverty, which Intemperance
was everywhere producing, and in no place more
extensively than in Quebec.

Among the statistical facts connected with this
subject, which had been furnished to me by gentle-
men holding official stations in the City, there are
some which may be usefully recorded here, as show-
ing how uniformly the increase of places where
intoxicating drinks are to he had, leads to accumu-
lated evils in the community that sanctions or per-
mits this traffic ; and how much more is lost, even
in a pecuniary sense, by the expenses involved in its
train, than is gained by the revenue from licenses
or duties on consumption.

The number of tavern-licenses already granted
for the year 1840, in the District of Quebec, was
SOI ; grocers’ licenses in the City to sell under 20
gallons, 154 ; and the same in the country to sell
under 3 gallons, 77 } making 532 licensed retailers of
spirits in the whole. In the City, however, the num-
ber of unlicensed retailers are reported by the police
to be rather more numerous than the licensed j but
supposing them to be only equal, the number would
stand thus : licensed taverns, 170, licensed grocers,
154, making 324 licensed spirit-sellers for the City
alone ; and adding an equal number of unlicensed
places, there would he 648 houses in which spirits
are retailed, for a population of less than 30,000

CANADA.

256

persons. There are, besides these, a number of dis-
tilleries and breweries in active operation, as well as
importers and wholesale dealers bringing into the port
of Quebec every year 1,145,072 gallons of wine and
spirits, in the proportion of about two-thirds of the
latter to one-third of the former, the exact amounts
being, of wine 378,186, and of spirits 766,886 gals.

It has been estimated, on the most moderate
data, that the sum expended annually in Quebec in
intoxicating drinks, exceeds 50,000/. ; and that the
expenditure arising out of this, for Jails, Hospitals,
Asylums, and Police, amount to 10,000/. a year
more; while the losses occasioned by intoxication,
in idleness, riots, gambling, fires, wrecks, and other
consequences of drinking to excess, would more than
make up the balance of 100,000/. a year, as a total
expenditure or waste of the property of the com-
munity!

The Coroner of the City had held inquests over
39 persons, who had come to a premature death by
drunkenness, in the short space between March and
September; adding his opinion, that this did not
represent a third of the number who had actually
died of drunkenness in the same space of time ! His
inquests were held only over the bodies of those who
came to their death under circumstances of sudden-
ness or violence, which demanded this investigation ;
while every day there were occurring instances of
persons dying from this cause, in the public hospitals,
and in their own dwellings, as well as in public-
houses. In such cases, a previous sickness of a few
days would be sufficient to give a colouring to the
belief that they came to their death by the ordinary

QUEBEC.

257

operation of disease, but the disease itself arose from
excessive drinking, by which they were really killed,
though they would not come under the list of cases
in which it might be thought necessary to call for
an inquest by the Coroner.

The Jailer of the City had furnished his Report
also, from January to September, 1840, after having
investigated the case of every individual committed
to his charge ; and in this, he noticed those who con-
fessed to him that they had been first led to commit
the crimes with which they were charged, by indulg-
ing in Intemperance, putting down all the others as
unknown ; and the following is the Table sent by
him —

Month of
commitment.

Number

committed.

Caused by
Intemperance.

Cause not
known.

January

February

March

April

May

179

159

June

280

237

July

221

165

August

212

194

September

265

236

Totals

1,400

1,148

252

These were facts, of which the greatest number
of the auditors present were entirely ignorant, merely
because their investigations had never been directed
into the channels through which alone such informa-
tion could be obtained, and because their attention
had never been drawn to the subject. It is due to

CANADA.

25S

their humanity and proper feeling, however, to state,
that they appeared to be as much pained as they
were surprised to find themselves surrounded with
such numerous places for the sale of intoxicating
drinks, and to see so clearly how much of the crime,
misery, and death, which occurred in their City,
was to be traced to this cause. In consequence of
this conviction, a determination was expressed by
many of the most influential members of the com-
munity, who had never heard the question presented
in this shape befoi’e, to unite their etforts with those
of the Temperance Societies already established, to
stop the further progress of the evil, and, if possible,
apply a remedy or cure to so much of it as already
exists. Liberal contributions were cheerfully made
to a fund for printing and circulating information on
this subject ; and the meeting, which lasted nearly
three hours, dispersed with strong feelings in favour
of the cause.

One of the most pleasing proofs that could be
given of the impression produced by this meeting,
and of the great utility of holding such assemblies
as frequently as opportunity will admit, was this —
that a gentleman of fortune, living on the income of
his seigneuries in the neighbourhood of Quebec,
retired home from the meeting with a resolution to
destroy all the stock of spirits and wine in his cel-
lars ; and having carried this resolution into execu-
tion, he then joined the Temperance Society of
Quebec, and contributed liberally to its funds.
Of the sincerity of such a convert there could be no
doubt.

On the following morning, we had the pleasure to

QUEBEC.

259

see, by the French paper of the City, that the power-
ful influence of the French Bishop of Nancy had
been exerted to advance the same object, so that we
ventured to hope that a friendly rivalry and emula-
tion might exist between the Catholic and Protestant
population of Quebec, to see which would make the
greatest number of converts to Temperance, and
which could reclaim the greatest number of the
unfortunate inebriates of the City from the error of
their ways. One melancholy spectacle, which
occurred on the morning of the same day on which
these meetings were held, (Sept. 28th) was w^ell cal-
culated to impress the public mind in favour of our
views. This was the public execution of an English
seaman on board the Cleopatra frigate, who was
tried by a court-martial for having first struck his
superior officer on duty, and then stabbed to death
the sergeant of marines who was ordered to take him
into custody ; the violence of this man’s passions
having been greatly strengthened and inflamed by
his habitual indulgence in drink, whenever the
opportunity offered. He was found guilty, and sen-
tenced to be hung at the yard-arm of the ship in
which he had committed the murder ; and as it was
the first instance of the kind that had ever occurred
in Quebec, it excited universal attention, and made
a deep impression on the public mind.

I subjoin the article from the French paper, the
Canadian, of Quebec, to show the proceedings of the
Catholic Clergy on the subject of Temperance,
which, when contrasted with the condition exacted
by the Methodist Trustees, that no Temperance
Meeting should be held in their Chapel, places their

s 2

260

CANADA.

conduct in no favourable light. It is from the paper,
of Sept. 28th, as follows—

“ Hier s’est terraine la Retraite, commencee il y avail deux
seraaiiies, a la cathedrale de cette ville, sous la direction de Mon-
seit^neur de Nancy. Cette retraite ne devait durer qu’une
semaine, mais Taffluence des fiddles aupr^s des directeurs de leurs
consciences a ete telle, tant de monde a voulu profiler des avan-
tages spirituals qu ofFrait cette retraite, qu’on a dd doubler le
temps qu’on lui avail d abord destine. Tel est I’effet du cours
de predications de ce prelat distingue ; il en dit plus que tout ce
que nous pourrions rapporter, dans le cas ou un pareil sujet torn-
berait dans les attributions du journalisme. Monseigneur de
Nancy a preche deux fois par jour la premiere semaine, et une
fois la seconde, et chacune de ses improvisations durait une heure
et demie k peu-pr^s. On avail reuni dans cette retraite les fiddles
des deux paroisses de Quebec et de St. Roch, la matinee pour
les femmes, le soir pour les hommes, et chaque fois la cathedrale
etait encombree de monde. On a calcule qu’il ne pouvait pas y
avoir moins de 5 a 6,000 personnes a chaque instruction.

Monseigneur de Nancy a su profiler de I’impulsion qu’il a im-
prim^e k la population catholique de cette ville, pour encourager
la formation d’une Societe de Temperance, sous les auspices des
autorites ecclesiastiques, et avec des avantages et exercices spiri-
tuels, sur le modele des societes recommandees par les ev^ques
catholiques d’lrlande et des Etats-Unis. Ainsi le passage de ce
prelat serait marque par Taccomplissement d’une CEUvre qui ne
pent manquer d’influer beaucoup et d’une mani^re permanente
sur le bien-^tre social de notre population.

‘‘ On trouvera dans cette feuille les precedes d’une assemblee
qui eut lieu hier k la chapelle St. Joseph, au sujet de la formation
d’une Societe de Temperance en cette paroisse.

“ Cette apres-midi il a dk ^tre presente a Monseigneur de
Nancy une adresse, signee par un grand nombre de notabilit^s
catholiques de cette ville, le remerciant des efforts qu’il a bien
voulu faire en faveur des fideles des deux paroisses.

Temperance.

“ A une assemblee nombreuse de citoyens tenue hier k Tissue

QUEBEC.

261

des vfepres, a la chapelle. St. Joseph, les resolutions suivantes
furent unanimement adoptees :

« L’Hou. Juge Panet, President, Thos. Amiot, Ecr. Secretaire.

“ Resolu, Qu’une societe soit immediatement etablie dans la
paroisse de Quebec, sous le nom de ‘ Societe de Temperance de
la paroisse de Quebec.*

“ Resolu, Qu’un comite de douze membres soit nomme pour
dresser les regies ei reglement de la dite Societe, lequel comite
devra faire rapport Diraanche prochaiii a une assemblee convoquee
a cet elFet, et qu’il leur soit permis de s’adjoiudre tels citoyens
qu’ils jugeront a propos.

Resolu, Que les Messrs, suivants composent le dit comite :

Mr. le Cure de Quebec, Messrs. Petticlair, Massue, Dr.
Nault, Dr. Parent, Ed. Gingras, Tanswell, DeFoy,pere, J. Paquet,
R. Malouin, Buteau, Gauvin.

“ Resolu, Que les remerciments de cette assemblee, soient
offerts k Mr. le Cure et k Mr. le President pour la part qu’ils ont
bien voulu y prendre.

“ Resolu, Que les procMes de cette assemblee soient publies

dans le Canadien et la Gazette fran^aise de Quebec.

“ Thos. Amiot.

Quebec, 27 Septembre 1840. Secretaire.

From the united efforts of the Protestants and
Catholics in this good work, much benefit may be
expected; though it is not so much among the
population of French descent, as among the English,
and especially the Irish emigrants, that the evil of
Intemperance abounds. Even among these, however,
there is said to be a manifest improvement since
the labours of the excellent Father Mathew have
wrought such changes in Ireland ; many of the emi-
grants taking the pledge of total abstinence at his
hands before their embarkation ; and in such cases,
there have, not yet been known any certain instances
of relapse. Still, by far the larger number of that

CVNADA.

Q6<2

race of emigrants who come to Quebec are addicted
to the use of whisky to excess. Finding it much
cheaper here than at home, they indulge in it more
freely, often expending their little all before they
get away from the city, and contracting diseases by
which they are carried off, they leave their wives
and children in a state of complete destitution.

The climate of Quebec embraces the two extremes
of heat and cold, and must be very trying to the
constitution of strangers. The winters are long and
dreary, the snow commencing usually in October,
and sometimes covering the ground all the time till
May. During this period of seven months, the
weather is as cold as it is in December and January
in England ; and in the depth of their winter, the
thermometer is more frequently below zero than
above it, sometimes descending to 35 ° and 40°. Furs
are then worn by all who can afford them, as in
Russia ; and hats for the head are rarely or ever
seen. The guards on the ramparts are obliged to
be changed every hour, so that there is a constant
marching and relieving of the men at their posts.
Instances have been known, in which a soldier hav-
ing dropt or mislaid his mittens, has had his hands
frostbitten by holding his musket; and officers, we
were assured, take with them little pocket mirrors, by
which they are enabled to see, from time to time,
whether any part of their faces has changed colour,
it being thus easy to see a frostbitten part without
being able to feel it. The speedy application of
friction and snow, will restore the dormant action,
and prevent the putrefaction which would otherwise
ensue. Yet, at this season of severe cold, Quebec

QUEBEC.

is said to be full of gaiety. All business is at a
stand, from tbe river being frozen over and rendered
inaccessible to ships, so that the merchants have
little or nothing to do ; and the military and official
personages being also less occupied than at other
times, parties are formed for sleighing in the day-
time, and dinners, balls, and evening parties take
place at some house or another almost every night.

In May the snows begin to melt, the frosts to
break up, and in June the summer bursts into full
maturity, almost without the interval of spring. Its
shortness, however, renders it necessary that the
heat should be great, or otherwise the grains and
fruits of the earth would not ripen. Accordingly,
Nature provides this intensity of heat while the short
summer lasts. In consequence of this, maize, or
Indian corn, for which there is not heat enough in
England, is here ripened easily, and grapes are
grown in the open air. The heat is excessive, even
in the Citadel, and on the elevated parts of the
country round about ; but in the lower streets of the
City, and in the Coves under the Heights of Cape
Diamond, the heat is said to be suffocating, and far
more oppressive to the feelings than is ever experi-
enced either in the East or the West Indies. It is
at this season that the emigrants chiefly arrive, and
that spirit-drinking is carried to the greatest excess,
and it is then also that disease commits its most
dreadful ravages. When the cholera prevailed here
a few years ago, the wealthy and temperate portion
of the community, who lived in the upper and more
airy parts of the town, and who did not indulge
in excesses, were but very slightly affected by the

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^>64

scourge ; while from Champlain Street, in the lower
part of the town, where filth and intemperance
abounded, we were assured, by a medical gentleman,
that no less than eighty carts with dead bodies had
come in a single day to the common burying-ground
appropriated to their reception !

Notwithstanding the extreme and sudden changes
of temperature experienced at Quebec, and through-
out Lower Canada generally, the French peasantry
or hahitans, appear to be as healthy as any persons
of the same class in England. Enjoying the advan-
tages of competency in food and raiment, having
clean and well- ventilated villages and dwellings, and
being moreover generally temperate both in their
food and drink, they live to a good old age, and are
ruddy, active, and cheerful in an unusual degree ;
the women and children are always well dressed and
remarkably clean, and everything we saw of the
French Canadians induced us to believe that they
are among the happiest peasantry in the world.

CHAP. XVIII.

^isit to the FallsofMontmorenci— Contrast between the French
Canadians and the Americans-Description of
Montmorenci-Beautiful view of Quebec

on the Cape Rouge road-Spencer Wo«d— St. ^oix road—
Drive from Point Levi to the

peasantry, character and condition — Visit to the Falls of t e
Chaudier^Catholic crosses-Militia stations-F.ne views of
Quebec from the Heights of Point Levi— Excursion to Lake
St. Charles and Lorette - History and description of
Huron Indians— Amalgamation .

Visit to the Indian Church- “ Our Lady of Loretta —Visit to
the dwelling of the Indian Chief.

Sesides the varied and magnificent views presented
Tom the Citadel, the ramparts, and many parts of
the Upper Town of Quebec, which may be enjoyed
with increased pleasure every day, in a walk of half
an hour, or little more, the surrounding county
presents a number of interesting objects, and affords
many agreeable excursions. The principal of they
which we visited, were the Falls of Montmorenci. to
the north-east about nine miles; the Falls of the
Chaudiere, to the south-west about twelve miles;
the Lake St. Charles, to the north-west about sixteen
miles ; and the Indian village of Lorette, in the road
to the Lake, about eight miles. As we took a
separate day for each, it may he well to describe
them in the order in which they were visited.

CANADA.

260

In going to the Falls of Montraorenci, we passed
out of St. John’s Gate, and through the Suburbs of
St. John and St. Roch. These are wholly inhabited
by French Canadians, none but French signs are
seen, and nothing but the French language heard.
Crossing the river St. Charles, near its moiith, by a
wooden bridge, we passed several pretty villa resi-
dences, chiefly occupied by wealthy official men and
their families, and came on the road to Beauport.
Leading off from this on the left, is a road which
passes through the forest, to the ruins of an ancient
French chateau, said to have been the scene of licen-
tiousness and murder, from jealousy ; and thought
the more of, by the peasantry around, from the gene-
ral belief of the spot being haunted, by the unap-
peased ghost of the unhappy victim who there met
her untimely death. The story runs, that the cele-
brated and profligate Intendant, Bigot, the contem-
porary of IMontcalm, built this chateau for the
accommodation of a mistress whom he placed in this
secluded spot, to escape the observation of his wife ;
but the usual sagacity which jealousy never fails to
exert, led to the discovery of this retreat by the
injured and insulted lady of the Intendant, who
sought her opportunity for revenge, and indulged it
by poisoning the rival who had robbed her of her
domestic peace. From that hour, the chateau,
which is now called the Hermitage, has never been
inhabited but once, when it was used as a place of
refuge by the ladies of Quebec during the siege of
the City ; hut being after that entirely abandoned,
it is now in ruins.

The village of Beauport, which is a little more

BEAUFORT.

2G7

than half-way between Quebec and Montmorenci, is
remarkable for a church, with three spires, two
rising from square towers on each side the entrance,
and one rising from a square tower above the pedi-
ment. The appendage of two towers and spires to
the parish churches of the Canadians is not uncom-
mon, but this is the only instance I remember to
have seen in which there were three. As the
churches are large, the spires light and lofty, and
the roofs and domes generally covered with bright
tiling of tin, these edifices add very much to the
beauty of the rural picture. Though Beauport is
the only actual village on the way from Quebec to
Montmorenci, the whole road is one continuous
street of cottages, with few and small intervals of
space between the several groups ; and as our drive
along it was on a Saturday, we had an opportunity of
seeing all the population preparing for the Sabbath.
In every instance in which we had yet had an oppor-
tunity of seeing the Canadian peasantry, we had
been struck with their peculiar neatness and cleanli-
ness, both in their persons and dwellings ; and all
we witnessed in our journey to-day, strengthened our
first impressions. Though the glass windows of the
cottages were cleaner than any we remember to have
seen in the country dwellings of the agricultural
settlers in the United States, yet they were all under-
o-oino- the usual renovation to which they are sub-
jected every Saturday afternoon — the sashes being
taken out, and the glass washed with water, while
the frames are scrubbed with brushes and soap, and
the whole wiped perfectly dry before the sashes are
replaced. Fresh flowers are usually placed in the

268

CANADA.

windows after this ; and every part of the interior is
thoroughly cleaned. It is the universal custom of
the habitans to whitewash their dwellings every
spring; and as the roofs as well as the sides are of
wood the former being covered with wooden shin-

gles overlapping each other, exactly in shape like
the slate-tiles of roofs in England— every part of the
edifice is equally subjected to the white-washing
process, which gives the distant view of the land-
scape over which they are scattered, a livel\ and
even brilliant appearance ; and inspires all who see
them nearer at hand with great respect for the clean-
liness and order of their occupants.

The contrast between the clean, well-dressed, re-
spectful, and courteous French peasantry of Canada,
with the dirty, ill-clad, rude, and disorderly appear-
ance and conduct of most of the Irish and other
emigrant settlers in the United States, — and the
equally striking contrast between the neatness, clean-
liness, and order of their dwellings, with the utter
neglect of all attention to these qualities in the log-
cabins and shanties of the western cultivators among
the Americans — is greatly in favour of this country
and its inhabitants.

There are many causes, no doubt, which contribute
to produce this difference, and these may he num-
bered among them : — In the first place, the Canadian
peasant lives in the home of his fathers, and intends
that it shall be the home of his children ; he accord-
ingly takes the same kind of pride, in improving,
adorning, and preserving his patrimonial dwelling,
that an English landowner does in preserving the
family mansion, the condition of which reflects

tiUEBEC.

209

praise or blame on the character of its occupant.
The American, on the contrary, lives in a house
which has no patrimonial charm or association con-
nected with it, and he continues to occupy it only
until he can move further on, or build a better house
near the same spot, so that he cares but little about
its condition, if it answers the temporary purpose
for which it was erected. In the second place, the
Canadian is without the ambition to become rich,
and neither his time nor his thoughts are much
engrossed, either about speculations in buying and
selling, or disputations in matters of religion, or con-
troversies and contention amid the strife of politics.
He has, therefore, abundant time to enjoy his home,
surrounded by his contented domestic circle; he
accordingly makes that home as agreeable as he can,
because all his thoughts and feelings centre in its
happiness. The American, on the contrary, is so
busy in devising schemes for the accumulation of
money, so engaged in looking out for new lots of
land to buy, and for purchasers to take off his old
ones, as well as so frequently involved in the disputes
of politics and religion, that he has neither time nor
inclination to bestow much pains or much expense
in clearing, or improving, or adorning, a house,
which is his to-day, but may be another’s to-morrow.
Both of these parties would perhaps he benefited
by copying a little from each other, and avoiding
their respective extremes. It may be said, indeed,
that if the principal object of life ought to be the
enjoyment of those blessings which the Deity has
placed within our reach, the Canadian peasant seems
to be the wisest, as he is undoubtedly the happiest

270

CANADA.

msin of tliG two. But if> on tlio othor hand, tho
principal object of life ought to be to sacrifice the
certain enjoyment of the present for the uncertain
wealth and influence of the future, then the life of
the American is most in conformity with that view.
I cannot but think, however, that if an amalgamation
or interchange could be made between these two
races, and the Canadian could receive an inoculation
of the American’s enterprise, in exchange for a por-
tion of his contentment with things as they are, and
disposition to enjoy rather than to improve, that both
would be materially benefited thereby. At present,
I think the Canadian the more sober, more virtuous,
and more happy ; and the American, the more
instructed, more energetic, and more persevering,
but neither so clean, so healthy, so domestic, or so
amiable as the Canadians of French descent, as we
see them in the Province of Lower Canada, after a
lapse of more than two centuries from the first settle-
ment of their ancestors.

In about three hours after leaving Quebec, we
reached the Falls of Montmorenci, and were all
disappointed. We had heard so much of their
height, grandeur, and beauty, from those who had
spoken to us of them, that it is probable our expecta-
tions were unreasonably high ; and the quantity of
water in the Falls, is no doubt less in the month of
September, when we visited it, than after the melt-
ing of the snows in May ; but after making every
allowance for this, we still thought they had been
overrated. The river Montmorenci comes from the
north in a stream of about a hundred yards wide,
and it is not until it reaches the very edge of the

QUEBEC.

271

St. Lawrence, which it enters almost at right angles
with its course, that the water descends over a cliff,
the cataract literally falling into the St. Lawrence
below. The perpendicular height of the Falls is
said to be 250 feet, but I feel confident that this is
overrated, though when I remember that the early
French traveller. Father Hennepin, believed the
Falls of Niagara to be 600 feet high, while their
actual admeasurement gives only 180 feet, and com-
paratively recent English travellers have spoken of
the Citadel on Cape Diamond as being 1,000 feet
high, whereas it is only 350, I do not wonder that
an over-estimate should he made of the Falls of
Montmorenci. The breadth of the sheet of water
as it descended in one mass, appeared to me to he
from 60 to 80 feet ; hut there were some smaller
streams disconnected with the great mass, which fell
at the same time, and when the river is very full,
these probably are all connected in one wide sheet,
which must greatly increase the effect. The acces-
series of romantic landscape, of rich woods, and
broken masses of projecting rock, are also wanting
here, so that there is a nakedness and tameness in
the picture, that makes it greatly inferior even to
the secondary Falls of the Mohawk, or Trenton, or
the Genessee, in the United States ; and to place it
in comparison with the overwhelming grandeur of
Niagara, would be to do violence to all the rules of
taste and judgment.

Near the Falls is a house, which was at one time
the residence of the late Duke of Kent, the father of
Her present Majesty, when he commanded the forces
at Quebec ; his brother, the late King William IV.,

Til

CANADA.

having been here many years before him, as cap-
tain of a ship of war. It was near these Falls
that General Wolfe met his first repulse, when he
attacked the position of the French General Mont-
calm, and was driven back, and compelled to re-
embark, with the loss of 700 of the Hessian troops
engaged in the assault. There are extensive saw-
mills here, worked by the stream of the Montmo-
renci ; and as there are upwards of a hundred saws
in motion at a time, an entire cargo of planks is said
to be completed by these mills in the space of a
single day 1 These mills are fed by a large wooden
chute, or trough, about six feet broad and six feet
deep, extending for nearly half a mile in length, and
having a declivity of perhaps twenty degrees, so that
the torrent rushes through it with an amazing velo-
city, estimated by some at fifty, and by others at a
hundred miles an hour ! In the winter, when the
river St. Lawrence is frozen over below Quebec, the
Falls of the Montmorenci send out a spray, which,
lodging on the ice of the river below, just beyond
the point of its actual descent, freezes, and, by
accumulation, causes a mound, which increases every
hour, by fresh spray from the Fall freezing almost
as fast as it descends. As this process goes on all
through the winter, the conical mass of ice formed
by the spray alone, rises up to a considerable height ;
in the winter of 1829, it attained to an elevation of
126 feet, but does not often reach so high.

On returning from Montmorenci, we enjoyed a
splendid view of Quebec ; the whole of the northern
side of the promontory of Cape Diamond, on which
the City and Suburbs is chiefly built, being spread

QUEBEC.

273

out before us, while the beautiful Island of Orleans,
opposite the Falls, the southern shores of the St.
Lawrence, the towering Citadel, and the crowded
fleet of ships, some under sail, and others at anchor,
under the frowning battlements of the Cape, made
up a picture of surpassing beauty, and abundantly
compensated for any disappointment we might have
felt at the Falls not coming up to the high standard
of our expectations.

Our second excursion was by the road to Cape
Rouge, along the high level of the Plains of Abra-
ham, returning by the St. Foix road ; the former
overlooking the broad St. Lawrence, and the latter
commanding the beautiful valley and winding stream
of the St. Charles. It is difficult to say which of
these roads presents the finest variety of views ; but
it will be perfectly safe to assert, that there is no spot
that we have yet visited on the continent of Ame-
rica, which unfolds so many grand and enchanting
landscapes, combining every element of the pictu-
resque, as this delightful ride of a few hours \ and no
traveller who visits Quebec should omit to enjoy it.
In our way out, we visited the beautiful spot called
Spencer Wood, where one of the wealthy merchants
of Quebec has formed, at a distance of less than an
hour’s ride from the City, a country seat, which
unites the charms of an English mansion and an
Italian villa. The house is built of wood, but with
such thickness and solidity, as to afford equally good
protection against the summer heat and winter cold.
The centre is upwards of a century old, but the
wings are of recent addition, and are prettily orna-
mented with Ionic colonnades in the best taste.

CANADA.

27't

Within the house is a fine collection of pictures, and
articles of vertu, collected with much labour, and at
great expense, by the intelligent and tasteful proprie-
tor, who has travelled much in Italy and Germany,
and availed himself of every opportunity to bring
with him from thence, some of the treasures of
ancient and modern art. The gardens, of which
there are two, are spacious, and laid out with a happy
admixture of symmetry and the wild freedom of
nature ; and fruits and flowers in great variety, in-
cluding exotics as well as native productions, are
here raised in great perfection. The grounds in
front of the house, sloping towards the river, are well
disposed, and contain some fine clumps of forest-trees
of great size, here and there interspersed over the
lawn ; while the walks along the edge of the cliffs,
and the steep banks that overhang the St. Lawrence,
present a continued variety of striking and beautiful
views of that magnificent river. The projecting
promontory of rock which overlooks Wolfe’s Cove,
at the foot of which the hero made his first
landing, presents a view of Cape Diamond, Point
Levi, and the crowded harbour of Quebec between
them, which is not to be surpassed perhaps by any
marine picture on the globe ; while the sight of the
shores on each side, with thousands of large logs
of -timber ready for shipment, the numerous vessels
engaged in completing their lading from these, the
new rafts every day arriving from the upper province
and the Ottawa, the number of new vessels building
on the stocks, and the mingled sounds of the ship-
wrights’ hammers, the lumbermen’s axes, and the
chorus-songs of the raftsmen and steevadores working

aUEBEC.

275

alongside, and on board the loading ships, make up
altogether a scene of grandeur, beauty, bustle, and
animation, to which no other port in the world per-
haps can present a parallel.

We were most courteously received by the wealthy
proprietor of this beautiful spot, and accompanied by
him through the grounds ; after seeing which, and
passing through some agreeable scenes in crossing
the country, we returned home by the St. Foix road.
This, like the road to Cape Rouge, is thickly studded
with pretty villa residences, belonging to the more
opulent inhabitants of Quebec ; and all along its
extent, the view of the country to the left or north-
west is extensive and beautiful. In the fore-ground
it embraces the graceful windings of the small river
St. Charles, with the General and Marine Hospitals,
and the suburbs of St. Roch on its right bank.
Beyond the river, the surface of the country gradually
ascends, and exhibits, as prominent points, the vil-
lages of Lorette, of Charlesbourg, and of Beauport,
with the lofty mountains in the back-ground, which
form the limit of civilization northward ; while a
portion of the river St. Lawrence, the glen of the
Falls of Montmorenci, and the Isle of Orleans
beyond, add much to the beauty of the landscape.

Our third excursion was to the Falls of the Chau-
diere, on the opposite side of the St. Lawrence, and
about twelve miles distant from the city to the south-
west. I.eaving Quebec at ten in the morning, we
crossed the river in one of the large ferry-boats, pro-
pelled by wheels, worked with a large capstan in the
centre of the boat. To each of the four capstan-bars,
a horse was attached by means of a strong iron-arched

T 2

CA^ADA.

TlCy

hoop, and kept in constant motion round the capstan,
bv the perpetual alternation of the whip and the
voice, both zealously applied by two Canadian
drivers. The current of the St. Lawrence appeared
to be running at the rate of at least five miles ail
hour, accelerated by a strong ebb tide ; for though
Quebec is distant 350 miles from the sea, the oceanic
tide is felt here in great strength, and extends about
50 miles above the City ; the rise and fall at spring-
tides being about 22 feet, and at neap-tides about 18.
The navigation of the river, to sailing vessels espe-
cially, is greatly assisted by this alternation of ebb
and flow ; as, with a contrary wind, ships can beat up
or down the stream with great speed, when the tide
is in their favour ; and with a fair wind, even a con-
trary tide offers no serious impediment.

Landing at Point Levi, opposite to Quebec, we
had an exceedingly steep hill to ascend ; but on
reaching the summit of this, we had a tolerably level
and pleasant road all the remainder of our way.
From the village of D’Aubigny, and the landing at
Point Levi, after an agreeable ride of five miles, we
reached the river Etchemin, which empties itself
into the St. Lawrence, and over which we crossed by
a good wooden bridge. A little before reaching
this, is the beautiful villa of Lauzon, belonging to
Sir John Caldwell ; beyond the bridge, are exten-
sive saw-mills, erected by this gentleman, and in
constant and profitable occupation. From hence
the road along the shore of the St. Lawrence leads
through the small town of New Liverpool, w’here a
large number of ships were loading timber ; and a
few miles further on brought us to the river Chau-

QUEBEC.

277

diere, which we also crossed hy a bridge. Proceeding
up the left hank of the stream for about three miles,
we arrived at the cottage of one of the habitans,
where it was necessary to leave our carriage, at a
distance of about half a mile from the Falls, the
remainder of the way being impracticable except for
very narrow vehicles, or on horseback, or on foot.
We remained a little while at the cottage, while the
occupant of it prepared to accompany us as a guide ;
and were as much struck here, as we had been
everywhere else in Lower Canada, with the great
cleanliness of the peasantry, both in their persons
and dwellings. Nothing could surpass the neatness
and order of everything we saw here ; while the
family, consisting of a mother and five children, pre-
sented all the appearance of competency and comfort
according to their sphere of life. Like the peasants
of the country generally, they spoke only French ;
and like them too, they exhibited as much of habitual
gaiety and cheerfulness of disposition, and as much
kindness and courtesy of manners, as in the best
parts of France. From their answers to our inquiries,
we learnt that the greatest number of the farmers
around them were proprietors of the lands they tilled ;
and from the law and practice of subdividing the
property of persons at their death in equal portions
among their children, the estates were often cut up
into very small parcels. But this did not appear,
as yet at least, to be attended with any practical
evil ; for, small as some of the portions were, they
were so carefully cultivated and managed as to sup-
port a family comfortably out of five arpents of land,
the arpcnt being about little more than half an

278

CANADA.

English acre. In the long winters which cover
the ground with snow for six months in succession,
from November to April, the peasants employ them-
selves in cutting wood to supply the City with fuel,
and store up the surplus for the consumption of the
steamboats in the summer. In such intervals of
this as they can command from their agricultural
labours, they work on the river, assisting to load the
ships ; hut this of course applies only to the poorer
classes of the peasantry, the smallness of whose
farms, and the extent of whose families, require this
addition to their other means of support.

The Falls of the Chaudiere, to which we found an
easy access in the company of our guide, surprised
and delighted us by their beauty ; and the more so,
perhaps, from our having been told by more than
one person that they were not worth the trouble of
coming to see! Long experience had taught us
however, the difficulty of obtaining accurate informa-
tion from others on objects of this nature ; so that
we vvere determined to see for ourselves, and form
our own opinions. Thus, the Falls of Montmorenci,
that had been vaunted to us so highly, did not at all
come up to our expectations ; while the Falls of the
Chaudiere, which had been spoken of so contemp-
tuously, as greatly exceeded our anticipations. The
perpendicular height of the Cascade is little more
than a hundred feet, but the mass of waters is so
romantically broken by projecting rocks, as to pro-
duce a turbulence and fury in its descent which is
wild and picturesque in the highest degree. The
breadth of the Fall is about a quarter of a mile ;
and the roar of the waters as they roll over the

QUEBFX.

279

broken masses that intercept their descent to the
basin below, is grand and impressive; while the
up-turned strata of slaty rock, lying at an angle of
about 50° with the horizon, and presenting the edges
of innumerable lamin® to the feet of the visitor who
advances over them to the edge of the cataract, adds
much to the interest and beauty of the scene. The
accessories of wood and verdure on the adjoining
banks improve the whole ; and the rainbows pro-
duced by the action of the sun on the clouds of mist
and spray that here, as at Niagara, ascend from the
foot of the precipice, were more brilliant and gorgeous
in their colouring than any we remembered.

We lingered among the rocks as long as our time
would admit, being unwilling to quit a scene of so
much romantic beauty, but were at length compelled
to retire with our guide, at whose cottage we resumed
our carriage, and returned to Quebec. From many
points of the road, the views of the St. Lawrence
were very fine, and from the heights approaching
Point Levi, the view of the Citadel, the City, and
the harbour of Quebec, is perhaps the most impos-
ing that the neighbourhood commands.*

In this, as in every other picture embracing an
extensive range of view, the difficulty lies in trans-
ferring to paper the proper impression of space. In
the accompanying View of Quebec, this difficulty is
lessened by tbe number and contrast of the surround-
ing objects. The middle ground of the picture
represents the broad St. Lawrence, its current run-
ning from left to right, the stream opening to a
breadth of five miles just below or to the right of

* See the aecompanyiiig Engraving.

280

CANADA.

Quebec, and gradually increasing its width to sixty
miles across, from Gaspe to Labrador, where it
empties itself into the Gulf. The lofty cliffs on the
distant left of the picture are those of Cape Diamond,
350 feet in perpendicular elevation, at the foot of
which, on a narrow ledge of debris, from the heights
above, runs the long line of Champlain Street,
chiefly inhabited by emigrants, and persons engaged
as labourers in the timber-yards and shipping, while
the heights themselves are crowned by the long line
of fortifications and barracks, which constitute the
Citadel of Quebec. To the extreme left of this are
the Plains of Abraham, where the victory of Wolfe
over Montcalm was achieved, and up the almost
perpendicular cliflPs of which the soldiers and sailors
climbed, and drew up their arms and ammunition
with them. To the immediate right of the Citadel,
and a little lower in elevation, lies the City of
Quebec, sloping down to the river, and extending
inward for a mile tow'ards the small river of St.
Charles. The long white row of dwellings that
extends from this to the right a little up from the
stream, are those which line the road from Quebec
to the Falls of Montmorenci, as described in our
visit to that spot, and the lofty mountains rearing
their peaks behind them, are part of the chain that
bound the present settlements of the whites from
those of the Indians, which lie beyond them to the
north.

In our way along the road, from whence this View
is taken, we saw many of the Catholic crosses set
up by the wayside, some of them grotesquely orna-
mented, and nearly all of them having displayed on

QUEBEC.

281

the horizontal bar of the cross, representations of the
implements and things used at the time of the cruci-
fixion of the Saviour : such as a hammer, pincers,
and nails, a ladder, a spear with a sponge for vinegar
at the end of it, and another for piercing the side.
Upon some were hung shreds and relics of votive
offerings, placed there by persons who had recovered
from sickness, or escaped some misfortune, and took
this mode of testifying their gratitude to Heaven.
We passed also some of the stations of the militia
captains, indicated by a tall mast and topmast, rigged
with shrouds and backstays as in a cutter, with
halyards for a flag, the whole enclosed within a
square platform railed around below. On a small
board fastened to the shrouds, and presented towards
the road, so as to be easily read by every one passing
by, was the name of the captain, whose station it
was •, and these being mostly substantial farmers, his
dwelling-house was very near. The militia of Lower
Canada embraces a body of 80,000 men, compre-
hending all males between the ages of sixteen and
sixty ; but during the late rebellion, it was thought
unsafe to call them out, as there was little confidence
in their fidelity, both officers and men being nearly
all French Canadians. In Upper Canada, the militia
comprises a body of about 50,000, but these being
nearly all of English descent, formed the chief reli-
ance of the Province in the late troubles ; and as a
proof of their loyalty and zeal, it was stated at the
Brockville meeting recently held in Upper Canada,
on the Heights of Queenstown, that within a few
days after the issue of the Proclamation calling for
their services, there were upwards of 17,000 men

282

CANADA.

reported to the Lieutenant-Governor as being under
arms.

We reached the brow of the hill over which we
were to descend to the Ferry, about sunset, while
the tinned roofs and towers of Quebec were brightly
reflecting the horizontal beams of the declining orb
of day, and the broken outline of the City, with its
ever-varying levels, the softened light behind the
Citadel, showing all its works in sharp relief, and
the placid harbour, in a perfect calm, with about 300
ships at anchor, all in sight from this elevated point
of view, made up a picture of unsurpassed magni-
ficence and beauty.

Our last excursion was to Lake St. Charles, a
distance of about l6 miles north-west of Quebec,
and the Indian village of Lorette, which lies about
midway on the road. In this visit we had the plea-
sure to be accompanied by a most agreeable party of
ladies and gentlemen, whose acquaintance we had
the good fortune to form in Quebec, and whose intelli-
gence and lively spirits added much to the delight
of our journey. Some went on horseback, and
others in carriages, for which the road is very good
all the way, and we were fortunate in having a
bright sunny day after eleven o’clock, though up to
that hour it was cold and misty.

Leaving Quebec at nine, we proceeded along the
right bank of the river St. Charles for a mile or two,
and then crossing it by the Scotch bridge, followed
pretty nearly the windings of the stream, which pre-
sented many deep, woody, and romantic ravines in
the way. We halted at the village of Lorette at
noon for an hour, and then proceeded to the Lake

QUEBEC.

283

St. Charles. The road to this, passes over a hill
called Bellevue, from whence the prospect is exten-
sive and beautiful on all sides. On the right, or the
east, the mountain of Des Ormes rises, at a distance
of five or six miles, to an elevation of more than
1,000 feet; and on the left, or the west, the moun-
tain of Bonhomme, is about the same distance, and of
somewhat less elevation ; while to the north-west,
the mountain of Tsounonthuan, rises to a greater
elevation than cither. Between these mountains
flows the river of Jacques Cartier, so called after the
earliest French navigator that visited these parts ;
and the valleys are interspersed with several small
but pretty lakes, of which Lake Charles is the pi in-
cipal, and this is distinctly seen from the heights of
Bellevue. Beyond the most distant range of hills
seen towards the north from this point, there are no
inhabitants but Indians, excepting only the few
hunters and agents of the fur-traders.

* The Lake St. Charles is about five miles long,
and "not more than a mile broad, and is divided into
two portions, the Upper and the Lower lake. The
river Huron fiows into it from the north, and the
river St. Charles flows out of it on the south ; while
several smaller streams originating, in small lakes, on
both sides, pour their waters into the general reser-
voir, which carries them all into the St. Lawrence.
The shores of the lake are thickly wooded with a
great variety of trees, among which, however, the
pine and fir predominate. The western bank of the
lake is nearly level, but the eastern rises up in a
steep slope, so as to show the foliage to the greatest
advantage ; and as the first snow fell upon the moun-

284

CANADA.

tains about three days before our excursion, (Sept.
26,) and there had been sharp frosts every night
since, the autumnal tints, for which the American
forests are so remarkable, were displayed in all their
gorgeousness and glory. The bright scarlet of the
maple was like the most brilliant silk or satin ; the
light and sparkling yellows of the ash and aspen were
like the purest amber ; and every shade of crimson,
purple, and brown, were intermingled with these ;
while the rich dark green of the pines and firs
deepened the tone of the whole, and produced an
ensemble which the forest scenery of no other coun-
try can perhaps equal.

We found, on the borders of the lake, the house
of a Canadian peasant, as delightfully clean as all
the others that we had entered. We obtained here
the use of some canoes and paddles for a launch upon
the water. Some of the party went in single canoes,
which are more easily propelled, but are more liable
to upset than the double ones ; others, more cautious,
took the double canoe, lashed side by side, which
cannot be capsized ; but all appeared to enjoy the
exhilarating exercise. The lake is said to abound
with fish, especially excellent trout, and it is there-
fore a favourite resort of the angler. At the head
of the waters we were shown a pretty little rustic
cottage that was recently built here by Sir Charles
Grey, formerly a Judge of the Supreme Court in
India, and now a member of the House of Commons.*
He was one of the Commissioners sent out with
Lord Gosford, to inquire into and report upon the
state of the Province ; and being enchanted with
* At present Governor of Barbadoes, 1843 .

LORETTE.

€85

the romantic retirement of this spot, he bought a
tract of about a hundred acres of uncleared forest
land on the upper margin of the lake, and built this
rustic lodge for occasional pleasure parties, though
his stay in the Province was so short, that he did not
visit it more than two or three times.

In returning to the village of Lorette, and passing
over the high ground of Bellevue, we had a fine
prospect to the south of us, extending from the river
of Montmorenci to the river Chaudiere, with the
Citadel and town of Quebec nearly midway between
the two, distant about ten miles ; while all the beau-
tiful plain between these objects in the distance, and
the hill on which we stood, were studded with villages
and cottages, as white as snow, giving an impression
of great comfort, virtue, and happiness among their

numerous occupants. ^

At Lorette we now remained for two or three
hours, to examine the village, and see the Indian
tribe residing there. The settlement was originally
made for such of the Huron Indians as had embraced
Christianity, and were willing to adopt the habits of
an agricultural and settled life, under the superin-
tendence and direction of a priest appointed to pre-
side over them. To this course they were the more
readily inclined, as, in their wars with the Iroquois,
one of the Six Nations from the opposite side of the
St. Lawrence, the tribe of the Hurons had been
almost annihilated ; and their seeking the protection
of the French, and placing themselves entirely under
their guidance, seemed to offer the only hope o
their miserable remnant being saved. They are at
first said to have numbered about 3,000 individuals.

286

CANADA.

but in the early period of their settlement, a disease
before unknown to them, the small-pox, and habits
to which they were not previously addicted, especially
drinking intoxicating liquors, speedily reduced them
to less than half. Although they were ultimately
prevailed upon to abandon entirely the use of the
fire-water,” as spirits are appropriately called among
them, their numbers have still diminished ; while
their repeated marriages and intermarriages with
the French peasantry and the Canadian hunters
and voyageurs, have almost obliterated all trace of
pure Indian blood among them. Indeed, there is
but one, Zechariah Vincent, of whom I have spoken
before, that remains, who can boast of being ‘‘ a
Huron, the son of a Huron,” without the least
admixture of white blood ; and the greater darkness
of his complexion, the glossy jet of his long ringlets
of hair, the breadth of his nostrils, and fulness of his
lips, mark him out to the most casual observer, as
standing alone in the settlement — the last of the
Hurons — for with him, the pure blood of his tribe
will end, there being no Huron wife that he can take,
all the females of the tribe being more French than
Indian. I spoke to some of these, who w^ere as fair
as the peasantry of France ; and w^ho, from their
features, hair, eyes, and manner, might be taken for
Bretons or Normans. We asked them, how they
could call themselves Indians, when they replied —
‘‘ C’est vrai que nous sommes Frangaises, ou plutot
Canadiennes ; mais un peu sauvagees.” Very few
of these even speak the Huron tongue, which is now
almost entirely confined to the old men of the tribe ;
but French only is spoken by the Avomen and

LORKTTE.

287

children, so that “ la langue sauvage,” as they term
it, will soon disappear. The Hurons were said by
early travellers to be more voluptuous and effeminate
than any other of the Indian tribes ; which may
account for the French mingling more freely with
them ; they are said also to have had the custom
of recosnizing the hereditarv descent of the ofBce
and title of Chief through the female line, as well as
in the male, which made them an object of dislike
and contempt among the other Indian tribes, by
whom this custom was held in scorn. This may
account for the bitterness and unrelenting severity
with which the Hurons were pursued and extir-
pated, wherever they could be found, by their
enemies.

At present there are not more than 180 persons
belonging to the Indian settlement, of whom there
are about 70 men, 60 women, and 50 children.
They have a small tract of land under cultivation,
which they hold, not in common as the Indians
usually do, but in separate portions allotted to each,
the whole extent not exceeding 100 acres. The
men employ themselves in tillage and fishing during
the summer, and in cutting wood and hunting during
the winter. The women occupy themselves in gar-
dening, attending the cattle, and manufacturing
various articles of Indian dress, and ornaments in
leather, worked with porcupine’s quills and the hair
of the moose deer, richly coloured; and in birch
and basket-work, of fanciful forms and devices.
These they sell to visitors, generally at a handsome
price, while some are sent to the shops at Quebec,
where they find a ready sale among strangers visiting

CANADA

288

the City, and where they may be seen in great
variety. The children appear to be under very
little restraint, and are not much occupied either in
learning or in working. During the first half-hour
of our visit, they assembled in groups around us,
with their rude bows and arrows ; and exhibited
their skill in the use of this weapon of their fathers,
by shooting at a copper coin stuck into the soil, and
beaten down so that its upper edge was but barely
visible; when at a distance of twelve paces, they
would soon bit it with such violence as to knock it
out of the ground, and receive the coin as their
reward. Both the men and women of the tribe
wear a peculiar costume, which is neither Indian
nor Canadian, but a grotesque mixture of the two.
Bright and gaudy colours are in great request
among the women, and feathers and arms are the
chief delight of the men. Even the boys sometimes
wear a lar ge bunch of feathers stuck in the top of
the cap, or hanging from its side, to denote their
Indian origin, of which they present no other sign, but
of which they appear to be proud. All wear the
blanket, like a shawl, a garment well suited to the
indolent habits in which they indulge, wrapping
themselves around, and sitting for hours together
basking in the sun, or smoking their pipes over the
embers of a fire, which they are often too lazy to
replenish.

There are two divisions in the village of Lorette,
separated by the stream of the St. Charles. That
on the right bank of the river, is called the Canadian
Lorette, and in this none reside but persons of pure
French descent, their number is perhaps about 500.

LORF.TTE.

289

As this contains the parish church, it is frequented
on Sundays and fete days by as many as 1,500 per-
sons, for whose accommodation the church has been
recently enlarged. On the left bank of the river,
the division is called the Indian Lorette, and here
the 180 members of that mixed-blooded race alone
inhabit. Instead of a neat street or road, bordered
with pretty houses on both sides, as in the Canadian
village, the visitor sees here only a collection of rude
square buildings, of one story only, and neither so
clean, so well furnished, or in such neat order, as the
dwellings of the habitans. Their huts are separate
and detached, though with a small space only be-
tween each, just in the same manner as an encamp-
ment of wigwams would be placed, and presenting
a very unfavourable appearance.

The Church of the Indians is very small, not
capable of accommodating more than the Indians
themselves, and none others visit it, except out of
curiosity. The curate is one of the Catholic priest-
hood belonging to the missionaries specially set apart
for the work of preaching to the Indians, and the
service is conducted exactly as in any other Catholic
place of worship, the mass being in Latin, and the
sermons in French. As the curate was absent, we
were taken to the Church by one of the oldest of the
Indians, whose father was a pure-blooded Huron,
but his mother a half-breed Frenchwoman, he him-
self being then 9‘i> years of age, and in good health
and vigour ! The Church was very poorly adorned ;
but that upon which the Indians prided themselves
above all other things, was a representation in alto
relievo, over the principal altar, of the celebrated

290

CANADA.

Santa Casa, or Holy House of Loretta, conveying
through the air by angels, not to Loretta in Italy,
as the Catholics of Europe believe, but to Lorette
in Canada, as the Indians here are taught. The
tablet over the altar, in which this is contained, is
not more than six feet by four, and the elevation of
the relief about an inch or two above the surface ;
yet the old Indian who showed it to us, reproved us
when we called it a representation of the Santa
Casa of “ Our Lady of Loretta he insisted upon
it, that it was “la veritable maison de la Sainte
Vierge, dans laquelle elle demeurait a Nazaret, et
ou notre Seigneur Jesus Christ etait eleve dans son
enfance.” He could not perceive the least difficulty
in this being the identical house in which Joseph
and Mary resided, and where they brought up the
child Jesus as their son. We thought this was
strange enough, but he assured us that wffiat was
more wonderful than all was this : that some Indians
having behaved ill, and brought a curse upon their
heads, the devil was permitted to come with his
angels and carry away this “ House of the Virgin,”
as too precious for their tribe to possess. This was
effected in the night ; but when they had carried it
some hundreds of miles in the air, the Holy House
itself, by its own strength and power, tore itself away
from the grasp of Satan and his imps, and hastened
back to the Church of Lorette, from whence it was
so sacrilegiously taken, and there it has remained
ever since ! This was the old man’s firm belief ;
and he even named the period at which it was
asserted to have taken place, namely, about l60
years ago. It is difficult to suppose that the priest

LOHETTE.

291

is not aware of this opinion, and that he is not
unwilling to have it entertained. If he helieves it
himself, one may judge of the character of his mind ;
if he does not believe it himself, but permits it to
be believed by the Indians, one may see something
of the nature of the discipline, by which he holds
dominion over the minds of his flock ; and in either
case, it cannot increase one’s respect for his judgment
or his sincerity. If the curate had been at home,

I should have ascertained his own views from his
own confessions j but no one else could tell us more
than our old Indian guide had done already.

We visited the house of the chief of the tribe,
the only well-built residence in the village, but this
was particularly neat and clean ; and here we pro-
cured some mocassins and other articles of Indian
work, for presents to friends at home. We descended
also to the foot of the Falls of Lorette, which are
extremely romantic and pretty, the descent being
not perpendicular, hut at a very steep angle, and
there being an oblique turn in the course of the
descending torrent, which increases the foam and
the noise, and greatly improves the effect of the
picture.

Our labours were closed by a hearty repast, (the
party having brought their supplies of provender
with them from Quebec,) in the neat and clean
dwelling of one of the inhabitants of the ^Canadian
village ; and leaving Lorette about six o’clock, we
reached Quebec at nine, after a most agreeable

excursion.

General Sketch of the History of Canada — First voyage of John
and Sebastian Cabot — Enterprises of the French navigators^
Aubert, Cartier, and Robervalle — First capture of Quebec by
the English — Religious Establishments of the Jesuits — Expe-
dition of General Wolfe — Settlement of Canada under the
British — Distinctions between Upper and Lower Canada —
English and French races — Rebellion of 1837 — Visit of Lord
Durham — Union effected under Lord Sydenham — Area, cli-
mate, productions, and present condition of the Province.

Our journeys, from Toronto to Kingston, Montreal,
and Quebec, and our stay at each of these places,
having given me an opportunity of seeing the prin-
cipal towns of Upper and Lower Canada, and mix-
ing much with the inhabitants of each, I could hardly
fail to hear, as well as to see, much of the state of
the country, and its capacities for improvement, as
well as something of the people of all ranks,
their temper, feelings, and condition. During this
period I used all practicable diligence in reading
every public document or report within my reach
on these subjects, and comparing these with the
impressions communicated by others, and those
formed in my own mind from evidence passing under
my own observation ; so that this may be the most
appropriate time to give the result of my researches
and observations combined, on the Canadas.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

2<J3

The history of its discovery and conquest has
been detailed at considerable length in the separate
accounts of the two chief cities, Montreal and Que-
bec ; but it may be well to recall the principal dates
and events in a more condensed and continuous form,
as a brief chronicle of the past, before we enter on a
survey of its present condition.

In 1497, while the Seventh Henry filled the
throne of England, the two Venetian navigators,
John and Sebastian Cabot, sailing from Bristol in
England, saw the coasts of Newfoundland, Nova
Scotia, and New Brunswick, and brought accounts
of them to Europe.

In 1508, Aubert, a mariner of Dieppe, first sailed
up the river St. Lawrence, and brought to France
some of the native Indians then inhabiting the tract
of country called Canada.

In 1535, Cartier, the celebrated French navigator,
went much higher up the St. Lawrence, to which he
first gave that name, from entering it on the festival
of that Saint. He wintered in the small stream of
the St. Charles, close to the present Quebec, sailed
up as high as the Indian town of Hochelaga, 300
leagues from the sea, on the island now called Mont-
real, from the name of Mount Royal, first given by
Cartier to the lofty eminence in its centre.

In 1549, the Lord Robervalle, a French count,
sailed up to the island called Bacchus, by Cartier,
from the abundance of its grapes, and since named
Orleans, from the royal family of France, which
name it still retains.

In 1591, a fleet was sent from France to hunt
the walrus in the St. Lawrence; and old Hackluyt,

' the eminent compiler of the first English collection
of Voyages and Travels in the reign of Elizabeth,
says that the amazing number of 15,000 of these
animals were killed in a single season, by the crew
of one small bark employed.

In 1608, more than a century after the voyage of
the Cabots, the French navigator, Champlain, visited
Canada, and founded the present city of Quebec on
the promontory of Cape Diamond ; and Cardinal
Richelieu, then prime minister of France, lent all
his powerful aid to the establishment of the new
possession.

In 1630, Charles the First of England commis-
sioned David Kerkt, a Dutchman, and his compa^
nions, to fit out an expedition for the conquest of
“ La Nouvelle France,” as the territory was then
called ; and the inhabitants of Quebec, being wholly
unprepared for this sudden and unexpected visit,
surrendered their city to the English, 130 years
before it was conquered a second time by Wolfe.

Two years after its present capture, however, it
was ceded back to the French, by the treaty of St.
Germain, in 1632.

In 1635, the first College of Jesuits was founded
in Quebec j and in 1639, this was followed by a
convent of Ursuline Nuns ; both of these establish-
ments being supported by large endowments and
grants from the French sovereign and the heads of
the Catholic Church.

In 1665, the first large bodies of emigrants went
from France to Canada, taking with them farming
implements, seeds, cattle, and horses. These last
had never been seen by the Indians of this part

GENERAL HISTORY.

295

of the continent, though introduced long before by
the Spaniards in Mexico and Peru. The astonish-
men and terror of the natives at the sight of these
powerful and warlike animals was great in both
cases \ and from these two stocks, introduced by the
Spaniards and the French, the whole continent
became subsequently covered 5 and large tribes of
Indians have every man mounted, while thousands of
wild horses now roam the prairies of the west.

In 1667 , the Sieur Perrot set out from Quebec,
on a mission to convert the Indians to Christianity ^
and after travelling the long distance of twelve hun-
dred miles on foot, he succeeded in prevailing on
many of the chiefs and their followers to embrace the
Catholic faith.

In 1680, another Jesuit, Father Hennepin, went
from Quebec up the St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario,
visited the Falls of Niagara, of which he was the
first to give an account. He then ascended by Lakes
Erie and Huron, to Michigan, traversed the plains
of Illinois, reached the giant Mississippi, and tra-
velled up its banks as high as the Falls of St. An-
thony, this being the most remarkable discovery of
the age.

In 1682, La Salle, the patron of Father Hennepin,
following in his footsteps as far as the upper portion
of the river Mississippi, was the first who descended
that great sti-eam to the sea in the Gulf of Mexico, a
distance of three thousand miles ; and he was the
first to take possession of the whole country in the
name of his sovereign the King of France, in honour
of whom, he called the whole region comprehended in
the valley of the Mississippi, by the name of Louisiana.

29G

CANADA.

From this period on to 1756, very few striking
events are recorded in the history of Canada. But
in that year, the French General Montcalm was
sent out to take the command of Quebec, and to
rule as Governor-General over all Canada, the
entire territory of which did not then contain more
than 20,000 inhabitants, of whom nearly the whole
were French.

In 1759 , the expedition under General Wolfe
attacked Quebec, and the battle of the Plains of
Abraham gave victory to the English forces. The
details of this are given in the history of that City,
and need not be repeated here.

In 1763 , by the treaty of Fontainbleau, France
ceded to England the entire sovereignty and undis-
puted possession of all Canada, Nova Scotia, Cape
Breton, Newfoundland, and all the Islands in the
St. Lawrence ; while the English guaranteed to the
inhabitants of all these Provinces the free and undis-
turbed exercise of their religion, and the full enjoy-
ment of all their estates, personal property, and civil
privileges.

The French Canadians never joined the North
American Colonies in their revolt against the mother-
country, but remained always loyal to Great Britain.
The reason most frequently assigned for this, and
most probably the true one, is, that the ecclesiastical
authorities, being satisfied with the large posses-
sions and power remaining in their hands, and fear-
ing the possibility of its being wrested from them if
they joined the American Colonies in their rebel-
lion, used their influence with the people to remain
content with what they had, and rather to “ bear their

GENERAL HISTORy.

297

present ills, than fly to others which they knew
not of.”

In 1791, the Province of Canada, originally only
one, was dividend into two, under the names of Upper
and Lower Canada. This took place in the ministry
of Mr. Pitt, who assigned this as his reason for the
measure, in addressing the House of Commons on
the subject. He said, “ there was no probability of
reuniting the jarring interests and opposite views
of the inhabitants, but by giving them two separate
legislatures.” It should be observed, in explanation
of this, that while all the country below Montreal
and Quebec towards the sea, had been in the con-
tinued occupation of the French inhabitants, the
tract of country above Montreal, along the borders
of the Lakes, had been settled subsequently to the
British conquest, by British officers, and discharged
soldiers, to whom large grants of land had been
made by the Government, under the name of mili-
tary bounties : as 5,000 acres to a field-officer, 3,000
to a captain, 2,000 to a subaltern, and 50 acres to
a private. There had also been a number of British
subjects in the North American Colonies, who were
unwilling to join the rebellion of that country, and
who fled to Canada, where they found a welcome
reception among the military and other settlers in
the parts described. These constituted a purely
British and Protestant population, while the lower
parts of Canada contained a French and Catholic
population ; and hence the difficulty of suiting the
measures of the Local Legislatures so as to please
both parties. To remedy this difficulty, the experi-
ment of Mr. Pitt was tried, and for many years it

298

CANADA.

seemed to have accomplished the object he had in
view.

In 1837, however, the last great event in the
history of Canada occurred, which was the rebellion
under Papineau in Lower Canada, and Mackenzie
in Upper Canada. The details of this are so fami-
liar to every one, from their recent publication in
the public journals, and the debates in Parliament,
that it would be tiresome to repeat them here.
I have elsewhere expressed my opinion, that, as far
as I could judge, there never was an insurrection
undertaken with less reason, or with fewer griev-
ances to justify it; and that there were never placed
at the head of so important a movement, two persons
less qualified to lead, than the two individuals named.
In saying this, however, I do not wish to be under-
stood as meaning that there were no grievances to
be redressed. There were undoubtedly many, but
the remedies for them were all within the reach
of a firm but patient exercise of the power of public
opinion through the press, and through the legisla-
ture. The government of England, under the
administration of the Whigs, were faithless to their
own professed principles of attachment to constitu-
tional liberty, in acting as they did towards the
Canadians, by taking from them that legitimate con-
trol over their own legislature, which they have
themselves now and then threatened to exercise,
when in opposition at home ; namely, the power of
stopping the supplies, to force an unjust government
into remedying grievances, which otherwise they
would not remove. What the Canadians desired,
and what ought to have been instantly conceded to-

GENERAL IliSTORY.

299

tliem, was not separation from the dominion of l^^ng-
land, but the enjoyment of a responsible government
in the Colony itself; and that they were right in this
demand, is proved by the fact, that after crushing
the rebellion by force, hanging some, and exiling
others, who took a part in it, the Tory government,
which succeeded the Whigs in England, have not
only granted this responsible government, but ad-
mitted into favour and power, some of the very
leaders of the rebellion, as a concession to the popu-
lar will.

After a suspension of the Canadian constitution,
and the dissolution of their two Legislatures, placing
the whole country under a military despotism. Lord
Durham was sent out, vested with large powers, to
assume the reins of government, and if possible heal
the wounds that had been made. His known cha-
racter for liberality and justice caused him to he
hailed by all the liberal party in Canada as a Pacifi-
cator ; and during bis short stay in the country he
appears to have won the respect and esteem even of
those most opposed to his views. With the assistance
of several able men, whom he took out with him for
the purpose, voluminous Reports were drawn up on
almost every branch of inquiry that could be insti-
tuted ; and these were laid on the tables of both
Houses of Parliament, and freely commented on by
the British and Colonial press, till the state of
Canada might be said to have been laid bare to all
who chose to examine these numerous documents.
The chief remedy that Lord Durham recommended
was a re-union of the Provinces into one, as they

300

CANADA.

were before their division by Mr. Pitt, as he believed
that by assembling the French and English races in
one Parliament, and mingling them together in other
bodies for the transaction of public business, with
the exercise of a strict impartiality on the part of the
home and the local government, in the appointments
to office from each race, both would be ultimately
reconciled to each other. The French party, no
doubt, felt aggrieved at the loss of their nationality,
and as the conquered race, would have been delighted
to emancipate themselves from the bondage of a
foreign yoke. The English party had been too much
accustomed to indulge the feelings of conquerors and
superiors, and thus to arrogate to themselves some-
thing more of domination than was agreeable or just,
and thus the gulf between the races was growing
wider and wider every year. It was wise, therefore,
to attempt at least to close this breach ; and the
project of a re-union of the Provinces into one seemed
best calculated to eflFect that object.

The principal objection urged by the opponents
of the Union, in Upper Canada, was, that it would
give the French party predominance, and the reform
or radical party, as they preferred to call it, a poli-
tical victory. The more substantial objection of the
Lower Canadians was, that as Lower Canada had a
surplus revenue and was clear of debt, while Upper
Canada had a deficient revenue and heavy obliga-
tions, the amalgamation of the two would have the
effect of making the resources of the one division go
to pay the debts of the other. Both objections,
however, were too slight to be permitted to stand in

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

301

the way of consolidating and reconciling the discor-
dant elements of the country, and they were, there-
fore, wisely overruled.

Lord Durham’s hasty return from Canada, before
he had accomplished his object, in consequence of the
manner in which the Whig government at home
had abandoned him, as he conceived, in the hour of
need, led to the appointment of Mr. Poulett Thomp-
son, afterwards Lord Sydenham, as his successor ;
and the Parliament of Great Britain having passed
the Act of Union, and fixed a period for its being
carried into execution. Lord Sydenham lived to
accomplish it in a manner that reflects great honour
on his talents, judgment, firmness, and discretion ;
but soon after he had completed the organization of
the new Legislature and Government, in Canada,
he died. Lord Durham’s death, in England, had
previously occurred. The memory of both, as
public men, is held in deserved estimation in the
country to whose interests they both sedulously
devoted themselves with great zeal, disinterestedness,
and ability.

Since then, Sir Charles Bagot has held the office
of Governor-General for a short period, his shattered
health rendering his return to England necessary ;
and the last appointment made has been that of Sir
Charles Metcalfe, one of the most able, as well as
one of the most honourable, liberal, and successful
men of the present day, whose long and brilliant
career in the East Indies, in various offices of the
Civil Service, up to that of acting Governor-General,
and whose shorter but equally successful administra-
tion of the government of Jamaica, pointed him out

302

CANADA.

as the fittest man of the class to which he belongs to
assume the administration of Canada. As a Whig,
“and something more,” Sir Charles Metcalfe’s con-
sistency and principle have been tried by the severest
tests, and never found wanting ; while his inflexible
integrity, and impartial justice, have won the admira-
tion and homage of all parties over whom his rule
had been exercised. It does great honour to the
discrimination of Sir Robert Peel to have selected
such a man for the office, for Sir Charles Metcalfe
was solicited, and urgently too, to take upon himself
this responsibility ; and was, in no sense of the word,
a candidate for public employment, having been sum-
moned from his retirement in Devonshire, which he
quitted with reluctance, and only from that sense of
duty by which his whole career seems to have been
uniformly dictated.

This sketch of the history of Canada for nearly
three hundred and fifty years, from the voyage of
Cabot in 1497 » to the present year 1842, is neces-
sarily brief, but it is faithful, and sufficiently detailed
perhaps for a section of a work like this. It will now
be desirable to pass on to some account of the extent,
area, capacity, productions, and resources of the Pro-
vince itself, as from these we shall be enabled to form
some idea of its value.

The whole of the British possessions on the con-
tinent of North America, including the shores of the
Polar Sea, and the territory of Oregon, from the
mouth of the St. Lawrence to the shores of the
Pacific, include an area of no less than 4,000,000
of square miles ; while the island of Great Britain
itself contains only 84,000 square miles, of which

area and resources.

303

Eno^land alone covers about 58,000 only. Canada,
however, which forms but a small portion of the vast
area described above, reaches from the mouth of the
St. Lawrence in longitude 58° west to the head of
Lake Superior in longitude 90° west. It is therefore
1,300 miles in length from east to west, while its
breadth from latitude 42° north to latitude 52° north,
is about 700 miles ; giving it therefore an area of
about 350,000 square miles, or nearly seven times as
large as England alone !

This vast area is greatly diversified in surface,
character, and quality of soil. The northern portions
are mountainous, rocky, and sterile ; the southern,
are of less elevation and more fertile. All along the
borders of the great lakes, and on the hanks of the
Ottawa and the St. Lawrence, as well as of the
Thames and the Severn, the soil is rich and well
adapted to every description of agriculture. 1 e
largest and finest tracts of land are in Upper Canada,
as it was formerly called, on the eastern shore of
Lake Huron, and the northern shore of Lake Erie,
including the Western, the London, the Home, the
Gore, and the Newcastle districts. In all these,
farms quite equal to any in the best parts of England
may be carved out by the skilful and enterprising
acrriculturist; while the abundance of rivers and
lakes, large and small, in every portion of this terri-
tory, give him the greatest facilities for bringing his
produce to market. In these tracts, the prices of
land range from 10s. to 10/, an acre, according to its
state, position, and other circumstances attending it.
On the northern shores of Lake Ontario, from 1 0 -
ronto to Lake Simcoe, and from Kingston and the

301

CANADA.

Bay of Quinte to the banks of the Ottawa, receding
inland for 200 miles, are also excellent tracts of land
and immense forests of timber. In Lower Canada,
from Kingston to Montreal, in the Bathurst and
Ottawa districts, are fine estates ; while all the region
around Montreal itself is a perfect garden. And
onward from thence to Quebec, especially on the
right bank of the St. Lawrence, in what are called
the Eastern Townships, are tracts of land of all
degrees of extent, and of every variety of fertility, still
open for purchasers.

As you proceed down the river towards the sea,
and approach the coasts of Gaspe on the southern,
and Labrador on the northern shore, the tracts get
more mountainous and more rocky; but the bays
and streams are equally prolific in yielding the trea-
sures of the deep, in fish of every kind, in immense
quantities, richly rewarding the enterprise of those
who seek them.

The climate of Canada is everywhere in greater
extremes of heat and cold than in England. Through-
out the winter, which lasts nearly seven months,
the cold IS excesdve in Lower Canada, sometimes
as much as 36'’ below zero; and even in Upper
Canada 20 below zero is not unfrequent in the month
ot February. But as the atmosphere is remarkably
ly, the air calm, and the sky cloudless, with a
glowing sun, people of health who are able to take
exercise feel less inconvenience and discomfort from a
Canadian winter, than they would from an English
one; and the recreations of hunting, shooting, and
sleighing on the firm and compact snow which then
covers the hedges and fences of the country in many

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

305

parts, and leaves a boundless plain, are highly relished
hy all parties.

In the summer, which is correspondingly short,
the thermometer occasionally rises to 105°, and is
almost constantly above 90° in the daytime in June
and July. But the breezes from the lakes and
streams, and the general freshness of the atmosphere,
prevent this heat from being oppressive; while the
advantages it affords, in bringing rapidly the harvests
and fruits to a state of ripeness and perfection, coun-
terbalances every other consideration, and evinces
the wisdom and benevolence of the great Creator, in
so adapting the elements and the seasons as to
produce, in the most rigorous climates, a summer
whose intensity shall accomplish, in a brief period,
what in other countries it requires a much longer

period to achieve. _

Among the productions of Canada, animal and
veo-etable, there is abundance and variety. Of the
former, the wild animals include the moose and
fallow-deer, the bear, the wolf, the fox, the racoon,
the wild cat, the otter, and the beaver ; in the west-
ern parts the buffalo and the roebuck are occasionally
seen ; while squirrels, hares, partridges, and grouse
are numerous. Fish of various kinds, and most of
them excellent, abound in the lakes and streams, and
waterfowl in great profusion. Of vegetable produc-
tions, wheat, barley, and oats, may be raised in almost
every part of the Province; hemp and flax also
thrive ; while all the fruits of England and France
are grown in great perfection, especially in the warm

region about Montreal. ^ ^ .

The population of Lower Canada is estimated at

CANADA.

306

700,000, and that of Upper Canada at 500,000.
But as the continued influx of emigrants add greatly
to the latter, and but little to the former, the time
is not remote, when Upper Canada, or the country
west of Montreal, and around the Lakes, will be the
more densely peopled of the two.

The great Lakes of Upper Canada are indeed
inland seas, for the navigator sailing on them is
often out of sight of land on either side, and en-
counters storms hardly less terrible than those that
are met with on the Atlantic. A brief notice of their
respective areas may be acceptable.

Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water
in the world, being 366 miles long, and 140 miles
broad. It is 1,200 feet in depth, and is 627 feet
higher than the level of the ocean.

Lake Huron is 240 miles long, and 220 broad.
It has 1,000 feet of depth in the centre, and its
waters are as clear as crystal. In the Georgian
Bay, leading out of this Lake, are upwards of three
thousand islands ! many of them small but beautifully
picturesque, and one of them, the Great Manitoulin,
75^ miles long.

Lake Erie is 265 miles long, and 63 miles broad.
It has a depth of 250 feet only, and is 565 feet
above the level of the ocean, being 62 feet lower than
Lake Superior, and 30 feet lower than Lake Huron.

Lake Ontario receives all the waters of the upper
Lakes, by the Falls of Niagara. This Lake is I72
miles long, and 52 miles broad. Though the smallest
of the I.akes in area, it has a greater depth than
Lake Erie, having 1,000 feet of soundings in its
centre.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

307

The magnificent St. Lawrence, of which these
Lakes are but the expansions in its course, rises in
tlie Lake of the Woods, to the north-west of Lake
Superior, and in the distance from this last to the
sea, it traverses a course of more than two thousand
miles. Taking into account its beauty, as well as its
length — the romantic passage among the Thousand
Isles, between Kingston and Montreal — the size of
its I..akes — the magnificence of its Cataracts and
Rapids, from Niagara to the Chaudiere, Montmo-
renci, and St. Ann’s— and the gigantic scale of its
opening into the sea— it is beyond all question the
most magnificent river in the world. Neither the
Amazons, the Plata, nor the Orinoco of South Ame-
rica, the Missouri or Mississippi of North America,
the Niger or the Nile of Africa, the Ganges, the
Indus, the Tigris, or the Euphrates in Asia, or the
Danube, the Rhine, or the Vistula in Europe, can
either of them present so remarkable a combination of
objects of beauty and grandeur as the St. Lawrence.

Of the Cities of Canada, separate descriptions
have already been given while the Commerce of
the respective ports before dwelt on furnishes the
best index to the general traffic of the country.

All that remains to complete this sketch, is an
account of the new form of Government since the
Union ; and as that cannot be more faithfully exhi-
bited than in the Act of Union itself, it has been
thought best to give it entire in the Appendix.

X 2

CHAP. XX.

Departure from Quebec — Fine view of the City and surrounding
objects — Falls of Montmorenci — Isle of Orleans — Isle of
Filberts — River Saguenay — Scenery of its cliffy banks — Gran-
deur of the St. Lawrence at its entrance — Anticosti — Gaspe —
Bay of Chaleurs — Magdalen Islands — Prince Edward Island —
History, description, statistics, and commerce of the Colony
— Government, population, and religious sects of the Island —
Entrance to Pictou — Town of Scotch settlers — Coal beds and
railroad— Passage through the Gut of Canseau — Shores of
Nova Scotia and of Cape Breton — Geological theory of the
formation of their Bays — Entrance to the harbour of Halifax
— Embarkation of the late Governor for England — Specimen
of Colonial nationality.

Having secured a passage from Quebec to Halifax,
by the mail - steamer Unicorn, we embarked on
Tuesday the 29th of September, and left the Queen’s
Wharf at 3 p.m. The weather was delightful, and
the splendid view of the City was even more pic-
turesque and imposing as we receded from it, than at
the period of our first approaching it. Though the
naval squadron had sailed in the morning, there
still remained more than a hundred merchant ships
at anchor in the open stream, while from 200 to 300
others were within sight along the edge of the river
at the coves and wharfs, taking in or discharging
their cargoes. From one point of view — where the
Heights of Abraham, and the Citadel on Cape

RIVER ST. LAWRENCE.

309

Diamond, formed the back-ground, while the town
and its suburbs was spread out from tbe point of
that Cape to tbe entrance of tbe river St. Charles
before us, and the crowded shipping occupied the
centre of the whole — the picture was at once splendid
and beautiful in the extreme.

Soon after leaving Quebec, we approached the
south-western extremity of the Isle of Orleans, and
took the passage to the south of it, as the northein
has less width and less depth of water. Before we
reached the Island, we opened a fine view of the
Falls of Montmorenci on our left, the whole front
of which could be distinctly seen, presenting a sheet
of white foam descending, perpendicularly from the
cliff into the waters of the St. Lawrence, and look-
ing much better at this distance, about three miles

off, than when nearer to it.

The passage down the river was full of interest,
from the continued succession of agreeable land-
scapes presented on either side, the farms being all
brought under cultivation, and the whole way for
many miles on tbe southern shore being covered with
small villages, long lines of white cottages like a
continuous street, and many parish churches with
neat towers and spires ; the whole of the population
settled here being French Canadians, the cleanliness
and neatness of whose habitations we had before so
often remarked. The Isle of Orleans was equally
well cultivated, and as thickly settled ; and toth
banks of tbe mighty river wore the aspect of abun-
dance and prosperity. ,

After passing the north-eastern extremity ot this
Island of Orleans, the St. Lawrence expands its

310

CANADA.

breadth to several miles across, though it is still
studded with islands. Among those which we passed
about sun-set, were the Isle Madame, and Grosse
Isle, the latter being the Quarantine station of the
port of Quebec. Beyond these was the high land
of Cape Tourment, about 1,500 feet above the level
of the stream, and thirty miles below Quebec— the
scenery here possessing features of vastness and
grandeur, which increase as you approach the sea.
Near this, we passed by the ships of war which had
sailed from Quebec this morning, all now at anchor
in the stream, the flood-tide setting up strongly, and
rendering them unable to proceed ; while the“steamer
in which we were embarked continued her course
without interruption.

In the course of the night we passed through a
Rapid called the Traverse, where a floating light is
stationed for the guidance of navigators, the current
running here at the rate of from six to seven miles
in the hour. We passed also the Isle aux Coudres,
or Isle of Filberts, where the old French discoverer,
Jacques Cartier, anchored on his first voyage up the
St. Lawrence, and gave the name to the Island from
the great quantities of filberts then found growing
there. Two spots in the little bay opposite to it on
the northern shore, he called at the same time, St.
Peter’s and St. Paul’s.

Early on the morning of September the 30th, we
were abreast of Green Island, and the small village
of Trois Pistolles, on the southern shore ; while on
the northern, inmediately opposite to us, was the
entrance to the river Saguenay, which here pours its
tributary waters into the St. Lawrence. Of this

river SAGUENAY.

311

stream »e heard many detoils from Captain Douglas,

:,;.o commanded the Unicorn, he ha.i^ b^n

PTrmloved on its first survey, and his ship hem

firs^ that had ever penetrated it

its mouth, vrhich is about 170

'Phis river rises in the mountains, about 500 mi

'etn^th-west of its emhouchure and m dm men-

dian of Moutreal. about 7d west. It flows hr

• h o T -ilip called the Lake of ot. Jonn, iroi
into a Lake, caiie

whence it again issues at its easieru cn ,

wnence fe awrence. In breadth, it is

flows onward to the 3t. Lawrence

scarcely ever less than a mile; its deptn, wne
iJl has been found to be in many places a hun-

m ° atong its shores adds much to

‘to Wildn^s and grandeur! there being only one sta-
,ts wildness ana g Chicoutimi, at a

tiou of ^ ,, miles above the St.

distant o Indians bring their pellrira

Lawren , „ip.,sure-excursions have been made

for sale. “t,,. steamer, during the

up this river, h}

last summer, an to us as delighted

;l;rrgrXrot theseener, they had witnessed

St. Lawrence, the i'^XXontth! wS
gl“rLS“ll h expands to forty miles from

312

CANADA.

Cape Chat to Cape des Monts Pelles. From thence
it goes on still further expanding till it reaches the
breadth of about 120 miles from shore to shore, in
a line drawn from the extreme point of Gaspe due
north across the western edge of the Island of Anti-
costi, and so on to the coast of Labrador. Through
this magnificent mouth of the river, we passed into
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, having thus traced the
noble stream, from the island of Mackinaw, in the
Straits of Michillimackinac, at the head of Lake
Huron, down to the Island of Anticosti, a distance
of at least 2,000 miles, through a chain of the most
splendid Lakes in the world, and with almost every
variety of scenery along its majestic course.

From Gaspe round into the Bay of Chaleurs — so
named by Cartier, because of the excessive heats felt
there by himself and his companions, on his first
visiting that Bay in the month of August — the whole
coast is said to abound with fish, and during the
fishing season a large number of boats and men are
engaged in this occupation. It is thought that
there are often 2,000 persons thus employed, chiefly
in open boats. As many as 60,000 quintals of cod-
fish have been taken on the coast of Gaspe alone, in
a single season, of which about 10,000 were sold
in a fresh state, and 50,000 dried and salted for
exportation, while 30,000 gallons of oil were obtained
chiefly from the livers of these fish. Besides these,
about 4,000 barrels of herrings, and 2,000 barrels
of salmon, are taken and cured in the same period.
Seven or eight sailing- vesssels, chiefly schooners, with
about 250 men, are employed in the whale-fishery
within the Gulf, and make from 20,000 to 25,000

GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE.

313

.alloRS Of oil in the season. Not less than 70 vessels
are also employed from Gasp6 m the timher-trade,
exporting from thence about 100,000 feet of
the yeai? The population of the district which
comprehends 350 miles of coast,
of Chaleurs, is estimated to be about 15,000, chie y
of French descent ; and along the edge of the shoi^e
laro-e portions of the territory have been brought
under cultivation, and yield good harvests of gram
Gasp6 is visited every spring, by large "umbers of
trades, from Jersey, who come here to select and
purchase dried fish, chiefly cod, which they ship off i
small vessels of their own. The greater part of these
goes to the ports of the Mediterranean, J^ber® the
CathoUc population form the great body of the con-
sumers • the inferior qualities they send to Halifax,
from whence they are shipped to the West Indies,

for the food of the negro population.

The large island of Anticosti, which stands at the
entrance into the rWer St. Lawrence, though more
than 300 miles in circumference, is as yet y
Svaled ov settled. A ligWhouse h- «centty
erected here, and some provision-stations established
for shipwrecked fishermen. Many small vessels also

frequent its coasts during the «*“"f
small parties of wreckers come to collect the mate
rials of such ships as may he c^t upon its iron-
bound coast, of which unfortunately there are
n"an’y, though the 4at
spring and summer on the eastern coast o Newfound
knd and Nova Scotia, do not extend thus fai into
the Gulf, and the Bay of Chaleurs is entirely clear

of them.

314 -

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

In the course of the day we saw the spoutings of
several whales in the Gulf. At 4, p. m., the group
called the Magdalen Islands were in sight. As we
approached these, several seals were from time to
time seen to lift their heads out of the water, look
round a little, and then suddenly disappear. It is
said that the walrus is often found on the shores of
these islands, hut we did not pass sufficiently near
them to observe any. The whole group, comprising
about half a dozen small islets, belonged to the late
Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, who, though so distin-
guished an officer in the British naval service, was a
native of the island of Nantucket, off the coast of
Massachusetts, and always retained a gi*eat affection
for the place of his nativity, where a great number
of his relatives bearing the family name still remain.
One of these islands is called Coffin Island, and the
others are named Bird, Brian, Saunders, Wolfe,
Deadman, Entry, and Amherst ; but they are all
very small, and have but few inhabitants.

By sunset we came within sight of Prince Edward
Island, and steered for its eastern extremity, round
which it was intended to pass, so as to haul up for
the harbour of Pictou. There is an inner passage
from Gaspe through the Northumberland Straits to
this harbour, but as our passage through it would
have been by night, and the navigation is not
thought so safe as the outer passage, this last was
preferred.

Prince Edward Island is so called in honour of
the late Duke of Kent, the father of Her present
Majesty, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
in these Provinces, in 1799> when its present name

PICTOU.

315

was substituted for that of St. John, which it origi-
nallv bore. Though forming a separate pyernment,
as a Colony, it is comparatively small, being m is
greatest length 135 miles, and in its greatest breadth
34. only. In one place it is not more than a mile
wide ; and its coasts on both sides present so many
bays that there are few parts of the island in whic
it is more than ten miles across from the head of one
bay to the head of some other. The whole area of
the island exceeds 1,000,000 of acres, and as there
are no very lofty mountains, while there is an abun-
dance of wood, and many little lakes ^nd streams, it
is fertile and inhabitable throughout. The climate
is milder and softer than

the iocrs of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia , and
the health and longevity of its inhabitants is remark-
able. It will be described more at length in a sub-

^^^ATsunrife, on the morning of Friday, the 2nd of
October, we passed close under the small island of

Pictou, which lies to the south of
Island and at 7, a. m. we entered the port of Pictou,
on the peninsula of Nova Scotia. There is a smal
liahthoLe on the eastern point of the habour as you
enter— one of the few with which all the coasts and
islands within the Gulf of St. Lawrence is too scan-
tily supplied, and for the want of which many ships
nrl wrecked every year; though the expense of
the J eafeguar.le to navigation would
bo amply repaid by a very slight imimst on the
numermis ships and vessels frequenting these waters.

The harbour of Pictou is small, but ^^ry pretty.
The course into it is nearly west by compass, or a

316

NOVA SCOTIA.

true course of west-south-west j and the depth of
water over the bar three fathoms and half at low
water. The town is about two miles in beyond the
entrance of the harbour, and the shores on each
side are well cultivated, though the land appears to
be stony, and not very fertile. On the left hand,
as we advanced up the harbour, we saw a small
settlement of the Micmack Indians, the remnant of
their tribe, being encamped here in wigwams on the
slope of the hill near the sea. The town of Pictou
is small, containing perhaps 300 houses, almost
entirely built of wood ; but the spires of three
churches rising from among them, show that sufficient
provision exists for so small a community as to places
of worship at least ; the principal settlers here being
emigrants from the west coast of Scotland.

After landing the Quebec mail for Halifax at
Pictou, the steamer went up for a few miles into an
inner harbour to take in her supply of coals, and we
remained on board during the time. At this place,
we found several large vessels, English and Ame-
rican, loading with coals for different ports. The coal
mines are distant from hence about seven miles ; but
the coals are brought in by a railroad from thence
in small waggons, which are carried by projecting
stages of wood, erected for the purpose, right over
the holds of the ships prepared to receive them,
when the bottom of the waggon is let down, and the
whole of its contents falls perpendicularly into the
hold below. By this expeditious process, about eighty
tons of coal were taken on board in less than two
hours, the price of the article at the wharf being 18s.
pei chaldron. As the quality of the coal is excel-

VICTOU.

317

lent, the demand for it increases every year, both m
the British Provinces and in the New England
States i and the supply is inexhaustible, as the area
over which the known beds of this material are spread

6xcG6cls ten ihiIgs s(][U3irG« a

Returning to the town of Pictou to take on board

some additional passengers for Halifax, we ®

harbour again about noon, passed Pictou Island at
onfo’clock, and saw Prince Edward Hand beyond
if but keeping nearer to the coast of Nova Scotia,
we passed the small village of Arisaig, and a ong
line of well-cultivuted coast for forty mtles^ hll we
rounded Cape George within half a mile oi the
Zre about four o’clock, stood across the opening
of G^or'e’s Bay till six, and then entered the nar-
Jow strait, called the Gut of Canseau This remark

able channel, which is about ^

through the narrowest parts of it, divides u p
Breton on the north-east, from Nova Scotia on the
soS-west, the course through the strait being ahou

s:S-south.east by compass, or a

course Its average breadth is not more than two

Xand in someVey* r' ”°a of "“n^r
across, presenting therefore the asp^t of -

There is excelient anchoring ground ,

watrfrom three to ten fathoms, near the shori^^and
• u QiiTilcen rocks and shoals, so

at once. ^ ^ winds than oi

but depends more on the state oi i

the tides, often going with the wind.

318

NOVA SCOTIA.

four or five miles an hour. Both sides of the strait
appeared to be well settled and fully cultivated, and
the inhabitants, who are chiefly of Scotch descent,
with a few Acadians, have the reputation of being
remarkably industrious, moral, and prosperous.

After clearing this Strait, our passage through
which was interesting and agreeable, being accom-
panied by a brilliant moonlight, we crossed the Bay
of Chedabucto, at the head of which is a noble har-
bour, called Milford Haven, from its resemblance to
that celebrated port in Wales. About midnight we
rounded the promontory of Cape Canseau, and then
altered our course to west -south -west along the
coast.

As the daylight opened on the following morning,
we found ourselves running down the coast of Nova
Scotia, about eight or nine miles off shore ; but though
there was a fresh breeze from the southward, and
the coast is exposed to the full sweep of the sea from
the Atlantic, we had remarkably smooth water, and
a deliciously balmy atmosphere after the harsher and
colder air to which we had been subject in Lower
Canada. Everywhere along this coast, English
names prevail, though in some there is not the least
resemblance to be seen between the copy and the
original. Whitehaven, for instance, on the coast of
Nova Scotia, has no resemblance in position to
Whitehaven on the coast of Cumberland in EnHand.

On the other hand, Torbay and Berry Head, as seen
here, resemble very strongly the places so called on
the coast of Devonshire in England, both in their
conformation and in their relative positions. Sand-
wich Bay is very fine, though nothing like Sandwich

HALIFAX.

319

on the Kentish coast at home. Tl>e who e of this
south-eastern line of Nova Scotia, is
bays and harbours imaginable, resembling, m th^j
respect, the south-west coast of ’ ,

with geologists to attribute this, in both cases, to th
action of the Atlantic waters, beating in from cen-
tury to century, and thus corroding away, or scoop-
ing out, those extensive hollows or ®

though this theory' may he suggested hy the appear-
ance^of such bavs as we see there on the map, the
difficulty in adopting it is very great, wh«n
sider the fact, that as far as history and the earliest
maps of these coasts, whether of Nova Scotia or of

Ireland, will enable us to judge. ®

of the Atlantic waves has taken for the last

300 years ; and that unless the rocks were ongmdly
much softer than they are at present, or unless the

oceanic waters once possessed P^bSit attr^

sion or corrosion which they do not exhibit at pie
sent, it would require millions of years to have
produced the indentations which we see. some of
?hcm extending for many miles up within the capes
and promontories that enclose them, leaving many

scattLd islands as so ^ ^'T^^e'cLt "
them to protect the projecting line of the coast.

X noon we were down abreast of the harbour o
Halifax and hauled up on a course of a^ut noith
Ty » or a trao „orth-nortl.-»es. the v.„ra .on

hLe being

L Sax is striking. The harhoar ,s one of the

S‘20

NOVA SCOTIA.

finest that could be desired for though open to the
south-south-east, ships passing up beyond St. George’s
Island, and anchoring abreast of the town, are well
sheltered from every wind, and the harbour is acces-
sible at all seasons of the year. The town of Hali-
fax, which is on the left of the harbour as you enter,
rises from the sea, over a steep ascent, while the
summit of the hill, at a height of about 200 feet, is
crowned by a citadel, with fortifications and signal-
posts, which produces an imposing effect. If the
houses were large and built of stone, the position
occupied by the town could not fail to make its
appearance beautiful. But when you approach near,
the greater number of the edifices are seen to be of
wood, many of them are mean, as well as small, and
none of them are painted in the white dress, which
gives such freshness and brightness to the wooden
buildings of the towns and villages in Lower Canada
and the United States ; so that a stranger’s first im-
pressions of Halifax, derived from the exterior of
the great mass of the houses, are likely to be, as
ours were, decidedly unfavourable. Indeed, after
landing at the wharf, and passing up through one of
the principal streets of the town, to the only tolerable
hotel in the place, the Masonic Hall, and observin..
in our way the dusty streets, unpainted houses!
roken and neglected side-walks, and numbers of
dirty and ill-clad negroes, our impression was, that
ever since leaving England, we had never seen,
either in the United States, or in the Canadas, any
town with so few good private dwellings, or even
pab ic buildings in proportion to its antiquitv and
P pulation, as Halifax appeared to present. ‘

HALIFAX.

321

were unable to obtain apartments at the Masonic
Hall, but found accommodation at a Public Boarding
House, called the Acadian Hotel, just opposite the
west front of the Province Building, the only fine
public edifice in the town, and here we took up our
abode during the period of our stay.

Soon after our landing the town was full of bustle
and animation, in consequence of the preparations
making to accompany the embarkation of the late
governor, Sir Colin Campbell, with some public
demonstration of respect. It appears that the Ke-
form party in the Provincial Legislature, had carried
an Address to the Queen, praying for the removal of
Sir Colin from the government ; but instead
ing it home through the Governor himself, wMch is
the prescribed channel in such cases, the Address
was forwarded by the Speaker of the Legislative
Assembly directly to the Colonial Secretary in Lon-
don. By him it was returned, as not coming through
the proper channel; but, strange to say, though thus
scrupulous as to the form, the substance of the
Address was acted upon ; for Sir Colin soon received
an offer, from the Home Authorities, of the govern-
ment of Ceylon, which is considered of high^ rank,
and is much more lucrative than that of HaMax.
So rapid were the movements in the Colonial office,
that before Sir Colin could send home an answer,
signifying his acceptance or refusal of the proffered
advancement, his successor. Lord Falkland, arrive
in one of the large steam-packets to occupy his place
He was immediately sworn into the government, and
Sir Colin Campbell became a private individual ;
but even before Sir Colin’s departure, the new Cover-

322

NOVA SCOTIA.

nor had signified the Queen’s pleasure that five of
the Conservative members of the Executive Council
—among whom was JVXr* Cunard^ the great ship-
owner and projector of the new steam-packet line —
should resign their seats ; and these vacancies were
filled with five Reformers, among whom was Mr.
Howe, the editor and proprietor of the principal
Reform Journal of the Province, a weekly paper
called the Nova Scotian, the constant advocate o
“ Responsible Government,” the test and watch-word
of the Reform party here as well as in the Canadas.
The appointment of Lord Falkland, as a Whig, to
succeed Sir Colin Campbell, as a Tory, and the
recognition of the principle of “ Responsible Govern-
ment,” by choosing the new members of the Executive
Council from the leading men of the Reform party,
was regarded, of course, as a great triumph to the
Reform cause ; and to neutralize or counteract this
as much as possible, the Conservatives were deter-
mined to get up a demonstration, so as to show that
they viewed the departure of Sir Colin with regret,
and were determined to show him all the honours in
their power on his leaving their shores.

In the town there were two Societies, the St.
George’s and St. Andrew’s, composed of English
and Scotch, or descendants of these races respectively j
and such of the members of these as belonged to the
Conservative party, moved chiefly by political motives,
had little difficulty in obtaining the addition to their
ranks of others who were neutral, and of some even
who were hostile to Sir Colin’s political administra-
tion, but yet respected him as a Scotchman, or
esteemed him for his private character ; while others

HALIFAX.

323

a<rain joined them from love of display and fondness
of the excitement of a public demonstratiom These
two bodies, with the badges of their respective Socie-
ties, accompanied by banners and music, repaired to
the Government House about three o clock, and
escorted Sir Colin and his daughter, who were accom-
panied in other carriages by Lord and Lady Falkland
Ld their suite, from thence to the wharf. The St.
Andrew’s Society had a gigantic thistle borne before
them in the procession, and the members unharnessed
Sir Colin’s carriage, and drew it by ropes prf
prepared for the purpose to the wharf, their ban
playincr first the well-known air » The Campbells are
Lming,” and then the more pathetic one of Auld
lanc^ sync.” In the mean while, the three regiments
S fnfLtry in the garrison here were turned out to
te the street through which the procession passed,
and the whole scene, though not enthusiastic, was a
verv gay and animating one. Several appropriate
Addrlss^es had been presented and replied to by S
Colin during the day ; and at the wharf where
he embarked on board the Britannia steamer for
England, he thanked those by whom he was sur-
rounded, in brief but feeling terms, and was evidently
much affected by this manifestation of respect from
those by whom he had been thus escorted.

About the same time, the Umcom steamer m
„hlch we had arrived

taking in about 300 men belonging to the 23d regi
mLt or Royal Welsh Fusileers. with their baggage,
to go up the^St. Lawrence •, and as the Britannia, for
England, with Sir Colin Campbell on board, started
ft-I the same wharf, there was a large concourse of

y 2

3"24

NOVA SCOTIA.

persons, including the soldiers, the procession, and
the crowd assembled there. While the salute on
Sir Colin’s departure was firing from the fort, the
Unicorn started ; and between the 300 troops on
board, and the people on shore, there were exchanges
of recognition and adieus, in the waving of hats and
handkerchiefs, and responsive cheers, which so
moved one of the Halifax editors, as to induce him
to record his feelings in the following little morceau
of national vanity —

“ The splendid steamer Unicorn passed down tlie harbour at
a rapid rate, and in splendid style, at about six o’clock on Satur-
day evening, for Quebec, with the right wing of the 23d regiment,
who left this, bearing with them the high esteem of this commu-
nity, and its deep regret at their departure from a garrison in
which they have won the regard of its inliabitants. The siglit
was indeed an exciting and exhilarating one ; and, amid the roar
of cannon, the shouts of enthusiastic thousands, the sound of
soul-stirring music, and the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, we
felt carried away by the tumult of our feelings, with an admi-
ration of, and a pride in belonging to, the Greatest Nation in
the Universe

This would be laughed at by us, if uttered by
Brother Jonathan, in the United States, but it is
tolerated if said by the descendants of John Bull,
in the Colonies. ’

CHAP. XXL

First settlement of Nova Scotia by the French — Town of Halifax
founded by the Earl of Halifax— Cruel treatment of the Aca-
dians by the British— First House of Assembly formed in
Halifax— Visits of the Duke of Clarence and Duke of Kent—
Situation of the town— Fine harbour and basin Town of
Dartmouth — Shubenecadie Canal — Plan of Halifax Dock
Yard and Ordnance Depot— Province Building — Government
House — Catholic Seminary — Protestant College — Museum and
Mechanics’ Institute — Churches of Halifax — Numbers^ and
sects — Newspapers — Commerce of the Port — Population
British, Negroes, and Indians — General society — Loyalty of
feeling— Ladies of Halifax— Hospitality— Parties— Country
Residences — Agriculture — Roads.

The town of Halifax, as an English settlement, and
under its present name, may be said to have been
first founded in 1749 ; when the Earl of Halifax,
then President of the Board of Trade and Plantations,
conceived the project of collecting a number of
soldiers and sailors, who were discharged in conse-
quence of the peace, for whom it was thought it
would be an excellent provision to send them here as
settlers. Previous to this, the place had been occu-
pied, first by Indians of the Mickmack tribe, then
powerful in this territory, and subsequently by the
Acadians, descendants of the original French colo-
nists ; the town was then called Chebucto. It
was the wish and intention of the British govern-

826

NOVA SCOTIA.

ment, however, since the cession to it by France of
all Acadia, to fill up the Province as speedily as
possible with a British population. The Earl of
Halifax being at the head of the department with
which the execution of this project lay, and entering
into it with great zeal, the name of the settlement
was changed from Chebucto to Halifax, in honour
of this nobleman as its patron.

The numbers that are stated to have embarked in
the first expedition to this spot, were 3,760 ; con-
sisting of sailors, soldiers, and their families ; and
the sum of 40,000/. was appropriated by the govern-
ment at home for their conveyance. They first landed
in June, 1749; and procuring sawed timber and
plank from the neighbouring colony of Massa-
chusetts, then also under the British flag, they were
enabled to construct a small town, composed entirely
of wooden dwellings, but laid out with great regu-
larity, with straight and broad streets. They next
formed a Government, which consisted of a council of
six persons, named by the Governor, the Honourable
Edward Cornwallis, who exercised at the same time
legislative, judicial, and executive authority, subject
to the Governor’s control ; and during the first
six years of their administration, from I749 to 1755,
they received no less a sum than 415,584/., in annual
grants from the British Parliament, to support their
infant Colony.

For the first few years, the settlers of Halifax
were kept in perpetual apprehension from the attacks
of the Indians, who, though friendly to the Acadians,
were extremely hostile to the English, and scalped
and murdered them whenever they had an opportu-

HALIFAX.

327

nity. Sometimes they took them into the interior
by long and perilous journeys, under an infliction
of cruelties far worse than death itself* The English,
however, are not free from the reproach of having
behaved with quite as much cruelty to the large
body of French peasantry then scattered over the
territory of Nova Scotia, under the general name of
Acadians, from the French name of the province,
Acadia. About the year 1755, when the great
Lord Chatham was at the head of the ministry in
England, the French, having strengthened and rein,
forced Louisbourg, in Cape Breton, and excited
apprehensions that they intended to invade Nova
Scotia,— and the British, fearing that the Acadians,
their ancient subjects, would join the French in such a
case, a plan was formed by Governor Lawrence,
Admiral Mostyn, and Admiral Boscawen, who held
a council for this purpose, to root out the Acadians
from the territory, and scatter them as widely as they
could be spread. They were then thought to be
about 20,000 in number ; and though they were no
doubt strongly attached to their native country,
France, and had on all occasions refused to bear
arms against it, yet, like their countrymen in Lower
Canada, they lived in the peaceable pursuit of their
airricultural and pastoral operations. As it was
thought dangeroGs, however, to carry this wicked
project openly and avowedly into execution at once,
it was deemed most prudent to betray the unsus-
pecting victims into the snare laid for t em. ey
were invited in a body to repair to a certain place in
each district, to receive some communication ot an
important nature to themselves, but which could not

828

NOVA SCOTIA.

be divulged till they met ; and in the full confidence
of hearing some good tidings, the greater number of
them assembled in their respective districts confidingly.
Here, the fatal secret was divulged to them by their
oppressors, that their extirpation had been resolved
upon, as the enemies of the State ; that their lands,
houses, and cattle, were all forfeited; that they
were to be sent to the other American colonies far-
ther south and west ; and that all they would be
allowed to take with them, would be a small sum of
money each, and such moveables of furniture as could
be readily transported. Their numbers being
greatly divided, no resistance was made to this cruel
and unjust decree, though many wept bitterly, and
all remonstrated against so great an act of tyranny,
but without avail. The day of embarkation arrived,
and the troops and English settlers under arms, had
literally to force most of them at the point of the
bayonet, into the vessels and boats engaged for this
odious service. They were thus driven by force from
their homes, without the slightest reparation for the
robbery inflicted on them, and were landed as so
many vagrants on different parts of the coast of
JNew York, Pennsylvania, and even Georgia, where
they sufiered great hardships, and many died of
fatigue and want !

Out of the whole number of from 18,000 to
20,000 of the Acadians, whom it was intended by
this barbarous process to root out of the country.
It IS thought that not more than 10,000 were actually
exiled; the rest having fled from the reach of their
ruthless destroyers, into the depths of the wilderness
or refuge, and suffered more than those that had

HALU'AX.

329

been banished ; while their perescutors, with a
fiendish malignity which no Indians of the most bar-
barous or ferocious tribes could surpass, absolutely
ravaged their lands, and destroyed their dwellings,
to prevent their finding any shelter in them if they
should return ! In one district, according to the
statement of Judge Haliburton, no less than 263
houses of the Acadian peasantry were at one time
seen in a blaze ; yet, the innocent sufferers from this
loss, many of whom witnessed the conflagration from
the depths of the forests into which they had re-
treated, were able to restrain their indignation while
they saw their own dwellings consuming before their
eyes, till the destroyers set fire to their places of
worship, as well as their houses, when their religious
feelings being outraged by this act of desecration,
they made a sally on their enemies, killed about
thirty of them in their rage and desperation, and
then fled to the depths of the woods, again to hide
themselves from their sight !

A second case of the exile of the unhappy Aca-
dians took place in I 76 I, when, owing to a panic
occasioned by the landing of some French troops
on the Island of Newfoundland, the Government
ordered the few Acadians that still remained in
Nova Scotia to be seized and shipped for the Colony
of Massachusetts ; where, however, the New Eng-
landers positively refused to let them land, as they
had suffered so grievously from the burden of the
exiles previously cast upon their shores ; they
were therefore brought back again, in the same ships
that took them, to Halifax.

During the first period of the history of Halifax,

330 NOVA SCOTIA.

the government was administered by the Council of
Six, already described ; but in 17<58, this was fol-
lowed by the formation of a representative assembly
of 22 members, elected for the several townships
settled in Nova Scotia, with power to admit repre-
sentatives from other townships that might after-
wards be formed ; the members being elected by the
suffrages of all who held a freehold of the value of
forty shillings annual rent, this being the specified
qualification. The first House of Assembly, thus
constituted, met in Halifax, on the 2nd of October,
1758.

The first line of post-office packets from Falmouth
in England, to Halifax, was established in 1785,
and His late Majesty, William IV., visited it, in one
of the king’s ships, as an officer of the navy, in 1787,
two circumstances which gave some eclat to the town
and port at the time. This was still further in-
creased by the subsequent residence here, of the late
Duke of Kent, as military commander.

The value of Halifax, as a naval station, became
fully known, however, in the war with France, which
broke out in 1793 ; as the squadron destined to
occupy the sea from hence to the West Indies, made
this port their rendezvous, and sent all the prizes
taken by them in this quarter, into it, for condemna-
tion and sale. This, of course, brought merchants
and speculators here with capital ; and many valuable
settlers were afterwards induced to remain as per-
manent residents, who opened channels of commerce
with the West Indies and South America, as well
as with Europe, and thus contributed to enrich the
town. In the last war between Great Britain and

HALIFAX.

331

the United States also, Halifax was the port into
which all the American prizes taken in the western
waters of the Atlantic were carried for adjudication ;
and the sale of the ships and cargoes here, brought
monied men from various parts, as purchasers, and
caused much wealth to circulate among the inhabit-
ants, as well as the visitors. The peace of 1814<
put a stop to this, and some comparative depression
followed y hut the attention of capitalists and mer-
chants became, from that period, devoted to more
steady sources of gain from commerce, and this they
have since pursued, with a fair return of profit on
their undertakings.

The situation of the town of Halifax h^ been
already described, as lying on the western side of a
fine harbour, about three or four miles in from the
sea. 1 1 is protected from the winds of the s.s.e., the
bearing of its only entrance, by the island of St.
George, which occupies the centre of the harbour,
and defends it, by its elevated batteries, from the
approach of an enemy, as well as covering it from
the swell of the Atlantic by its bulk.

Opposite to Halifax, on the eastern shore of its
harbour, is the small town of Dartmouth, the soil
around which is more fertile than on the west, and
is advantageously cultivated chiefly by German set-
tlers. The breadth of the harbour hero is about a
mile and half, and a steam ferry-boat goes across
every half hour. It is of nearly as early a date as
Halifax, having been founded in 1750 ; but about
six years after its foundation it was destroyed by the
Indians, and the greater number of its inhabitants
massacred. It was revived in 1784 by some families

332

NOVA SCOTIA.

from Nantucket, among whom were some of the
Quebec family of the Roches, related to the wealthy
merchants of that name in New Bedford. They
carried on the whale-fishery here with great success
till 1792, when a branch of them removed to Milford
Haven in Wales. The town has now a population
of 1,500 only ; but if the projected canal, called
the Shubenacadie — intended to pass through a
chain of small lakes behind the town towards the
river Shubenacadie, which falls into the Bay of
Fundy — should ever be completed, it would no doubt
greatly advance the prosperity of Dartmouth.

It is from this point of view that the town of
Halifax, with its crowning hill and fortifications, its
busy wharves lined with shipping below, the spires of
its churches and the general mass of dwellings, is seen
to the greatest advantage.* The small but elevated
island of St. George, which shelters the town from
the s. E. winds and the swell of the Atlantic, is in
the middle of the picture ; while the opening of the
harbour’s mouth to seaward, and the distant line of
the ocean, is seen beyond, as indicated by a steamer
just appearing in the distant horizon.

Above and beyond the towns of Halifax and
Dartmouth, or farther in from the sea, the opposite
shores of the harbour approach each other within
less than half a mile, and constitute the passage called
The Narrows. Through this, however, there is
ample depth of water for the largest ships that fioat,
and within these Narrows, there is one of the most
magnificent sheets of water that can be conceived,
spreading out like an inland lake, covering an area
* See the accompanying Engraving.

N».v. A— j -

HALIFAX.

333

of ten miles square, in which all the navies of the
world might ride at anchor secure from every wind
that blows. This is called the Bedford Basin. It
is surrounded with lands of moderate height, well
cultivated, and in some future century will no doubt
contain towns and villages on its borders ; though at
present, the outer harbour of Halifax so effectually
answers all the purposes of shelter and accommoda-
tion to the ships frequenting it, that no use is made
of the splendid inner harbour or la,ke described, into
which the tide flows freely up to its extreme boun-
dary, the rise and fall here being about eight feet.

The plan of Halifax is much more symmetrical
than that of Quebec or Montreal, and approaches,
in this respect, the regularity of the Cities of the
United States. The length of the town along the
water’s edexe is about two miles, and its breadth up-
ward from the shore to the Citadel, about half a
mile The principal streets run through the length
of the town, or parallel to the water, there being
eight of this kind ; and these are crossed by sixteen
others, at right angles, ascending rom ®
up toward the Citadel, being very
a rise of about 200 feet m half a mile. These streets
p nn no feet broad, are mostly unpaved,

ilflffer rain The side-walks, as at Toronto
muddy after ram. ^

and Quebec, m^ mos^^)^ neglected state, which
are in a most dilap stranger to walk over

„ake it either hy

or gasi -d ierefore. as at Quebec

331

NOVA SCOTIA.

and Montreal, which are in the same state of dark-
ness, lanterns are indispensable to those who would
walk the streets in safety at night, when the moon is
not visible.

Above the town, and commanding both the har-
bour and the surrounding country, is the Citadel or
Fort, which does not cover a very extensive space,
but on which, large sums of money have been ex-
pended. It has great strength, and is considered
excellent as a military work. There is a deep ditch,
and covered-ways on both sides, with loop-holes
for musketry through the solid granite masonry ;
about fifty pieces of cannon are now mounted on the
batteries within, with space for more if needed. The
signal-post and telegraph here, are conspicuous
objects from afar ; and on a clear day, ships can be
descried through the powerful telescopes mounted
under shelter, at a distance of thirty miles.

Of the naval establishments for the equipment of
ships of war, there are two, the Dock Yard, and the
Ordnance Dep6t. The Dock Yard, as it is called,
according to the English usage, (though Navy Yard,
which is the term used in the United States, would
be here more appropriate,) has no dock in it ; the
rise and fall of the tide, which is only eight feet,
being insutficient to form a natural dock,°and no
artificial or dry dock having ever been made ; so that
ships of war requiring to have any repairs on their
bottoms, must be hove out for the purpose. This
yard covers fourteen acres of ground, has good
wharves, with deep water alongside them, and is well
furnished with anchors, cables, masts, and the usual

y naval stores, with ample and agreeable

HALIFAX.

335

accommodations for the commandant and officers of
the establishment, who are now, however, fewer in
number than in time of war. 1 here is a house for
the Admiral of the station, overlooking the harbour,
and a frigate, the Pyramus, is anchored there as a
receiving ship ; but the Admiral of the North
American squadron, now divides his time between
Halifax, Bermuda, and Barbadoes, visiting each at
fixed and appropriate seasons, so that the separate
ships cruising, on their respective stations, may know
where to find the Admiral’s ship in any case requir-
ing his aid or directions. The Ordnance establish-
ment is also very extensive ; and in both this and the
Dock Yard are to be found at all times a supply of
everything necessary for the reparation or equipment
of a naval fleet, for any operations likely to be re-
quired in this quarter.

The public buildings of Halifax are few in num-
ber, but one of them, called the Province Building,
is large, handsome, and commodious. Standing
nearlv in the centre of the town, and having an open
space all around it, so that all its proportions can be
seen to advantage, it is one of the principal orna-
ments of the City. It is built of a rich brown

close..rrained sandstone, sufficiently hard and smooth

to admit of being worked with as much exactness as
marble ; and no where in any country do I remember
to have seen more perfectly executed masonry than
in this building. It is of the Ionic order of archi-
ture, with a double front, each facing one of the
lateral streets. The east front is the principal one ;
and at this, the edifice has a centre and two wings,
each surmounted by a pediment, the centre having a

836

NOVA SCOTIA.

fine Ionic colonnade of six columns, rising from
the second story to the pediment, which contains
the royal arms of England in relief. It has here
three stories above the basement. The whole edi-
fice is 140 feet long, 70 feet broad, 70 feet high in
the east front, and 60 in the west, the difference
being occasioned by the slope of the hill, and the
difference of elevation between the two streets to
which these fronts are respectively presented. The
extern or principal front has an open space planted
with trees, and enclosed with an iron railing, which
adds much to its beauty j and the western front ap-
proaches close to the side-pavement of the street. The
interior of the building is quite as handsome as the
exterior, and as commodious as it is handsome. In
the basement story are capacious cellars and store-
rooms for various purposes. In the first floor above
this, or the ground-floor as it would be called, are
nearly all the public offices of the general govern-
ment and of the town. In the principal floor above
this, on a level with the street to which the west
fiont is presented, are the Hall of Representatives,
for the Speaker and forty members, constituting the
House of Delegates, and the Legislative Council
Chamber, with a throne for the Governor and seats
for the members of his Council. In these apart-
ments is an excellent full-length picture of His late
Majesty William IV., in his robes over a naval
uniform, painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence, and sent
out by the late king as a present to the House :
and portraits of George II. and III., and their
respective Queens, are also placed in different parts
of the same budding. The Courts of Law are held

HALIFAX.

337

under the same roof j and on the upper story is a
good Library belonging to the Legislature ; so that
the edifice unites public convenience with elegance,
by its concentrating in one spot all the public
records and public offices of the town and province.
It was built about twenty years ago, and cost
G0,000/., which was paid out of the provincial
revenues.

The Government House is a handsome edifice of
the same brown free-stone as the Province Building.
Though nearly in the centre of the town, it has a
good lawn and garden before its principal front, and
an enclosed court with shrubbery at the private
entrance, forming a much larger and more agreeable
residence for the governor than exists at Quebec,
Montreal, or Toronto.

Dalhousie College is another of the well-built
public edifices of Halifax. It is higher up on the
side of the hill, and is well placed on the northern
side of a large open space, used as a parade for the
troops in garrison here. It is built of the same fine
stone as the Province Building and Government
House, with a centre and two wings; it is about 100
feet by 50, and consists of three stories. It was
founded by the Earl of Dalhousie, whose name it
bears, in the year 1818, when that nobleman was
governor here ; but as the older College of Windsor,
about fifty miles off, on the north-western part of
Nova Scotia, which was founded and endowed in
1787, is much more efficient, the College at Halifax
has never risen to any eminence. It has a Board
of Directors, a few professors, and a very few pupils ;
but all the accommodations and materials for a large

338

NOVA SCOTIA.

number of students being there provided, time will
no doubt increase them.

There is a large Catholic seminary, called St.
Mary’s, conducted by an Irish gentleman of great
reputation, from the College of Maynooth ; a Classical
academy kept by a Protestant Divine, who is Chap-
lain of the gai'rison; and a National and an Acadian
school ; and several private seminaries.

In the College building is a Museum, containing
specimens of natural history, minerals, models of
machinery, and philosophical apparatus. Under
the same roof is a lecture-room, fitted up for the use
of the Mechanics’ Institute, capable of accommodating
300 auditors, where lectures are given by gentlemen
of the town, and well attended.

There are several barracks for the troops scat-
tered throughout the town in different quarters, and
open spaces used by them as parade grounds ; but
here, as at Quebec and Montreal, the military
officers mix but little with the general society, on
whom they look down as their inferiors in rank.
This is, perhaps, no real loss to the community, as
the dissipation which unfortunately characterizes
military life in most quarters of the world, (with
some exceptions, of course,) exercises no favourable
influence on the manners or morals of society ;
though the military themselves might benefit by
mixing more with civilians than they usually do.

Of churehes, there are nine in Halifax ; St. Paul’s
and St. George’s, of the Church of England ; St.
Andrew’s and St. Matthew’s, of the Church of Scot-
land ; St. Mary’s, of the Roman Catholic Church ;
with two Methodist, and one Baptist Chapel. There

HALIFAX

339

is also a very small old Dutch Church, of almost as
great antiquity as any building here, as it bears on
its front the inscription and date of 1763. The
largest of the English churches is St. Paul’s ; it was
built in 1750, a year only after the first settlement
of Halifax by the English. It is constructed of wood,
is most comraodiously and comfortably arranged
within, and will hold at least 1,500 persons. St.
George’s is perhaps next in size ; this is also built
of wood. It is circular in shape, which gives it the
appearance, on the outside, of a building intended
for a circus or panorama. St. Mary’s is built of
stone, with a square Gothic tower, and is perhaps
the handsomest of all the churches ; the only other
stone edifice of worship is the Baptist Chapel ; all
the rest are of wood, and possess nothing remarkable
in their architecture. All these churches are well
filled ; and the clergy and ministers of religion here,
are characterized by more than a usual share of
ability and piety; added to which, great liberality
and toleration seem to prevail between the different
denominations of Christians. In St. Paul’s Church
there are three full services on the sabbath, anjl two
in the course of the week. On the evenings of
Sunday, the Church is thrown open to all classes,
the pews being relinquished by their proprietors,
and some of almost every other congregation in town
attend here on these occasions.

Newspapers appear to be as numerous here, as in
any town of a similar size in America. None of
them are published daily ; but there are large
weekly papers — the Times, Conservative ; the Nova
Scotian, Reformer ; the Royal Gazette, official ; the
. z 2

d40

NOVA SCOTIA.

Journal and the Acadian Reporter, neutral. These
are all conducted with great care, and respectable
talent. There is also a religious paper in the Baptist
interest, called the Christian Messenger; and ano-
ther in the Methodist interest, called the Guardian.
Besides these, there are three penny papers published
twice and thrice a week — the Herald, the Morning
Post, and the Hailgonian, which furnish only the
heads of news, without exercising much influence
on public opinion.

There is a Theatre in Halifax ; but, like most of
these establishments in the Colonies, it is so little
frequented by the higher and even middle classes,
that its support is left to strangers, and the lowest
class of the population, so that it is constantly in
debt and embarrassment, and will ultimately, no
doubt, be abandoned.

The Commerce of Halifax is confined chiefly to
the United States, the West Indies, and the Brazils,
in America ; and to Great Britain and the Mediter-
ranean, in Europe. It consists chiefly of the export
of timber, dried fish, wheat, flour, oats, salted pork,
butter, and fish-oil ; and in the import of manufac-
tured goods from England, wines from the Mediter-
ranean, and sugar, molasses, logwood, mahogany,
cofiee, cigars, and rum, from the West Indies. The
^§'g*‘®g3,te amount of exports and imports on an ave-
rage of several years past, is about 750,000/. annually
for each ; though for the whole Province of Nova
Scotia, including the few other ports, it is about
1 , 000 , 000 /.

The population of Halifax is estimated at 16,000
persons, including at least 1,000 negroes, and a few

HALIFAX.

341

Indians of the Micmac tribe. These last are rather
occasional visitors than permanent residents; but,
like the negroes, being seen frequently in the streets,
and attracting attention from their fantastic dress
and colours, they give an impression to the stranger
of their being more numerous than they really are.
The negroes settled here are chiefly from the United
States and the West Indies. During the American
war, the British squadron, under Sir Alexander
Cochrane, after ravaging the shores of the Chesa-
peake, and going up to Washington to burn the
Capitol, and destroy the public records there, brought
away a great many negroes from Maryland and
Virginia, as prisoners of war ; and these becoming
free as soon as they were landed here, had no dispo-
sition to return. Ships arriving from the West
Indies also brought, from time to time, runaway
slaves, who sometimes secreted themselves in the
ships’ holds, till they got to sea, and sometimes entered
on board vessels as cooks or stewards, and finding
many of their own colour here, joined them as resi-
dents. The greater number of them appear to have
made little or no improvement in their condition,
being poor, ignorant, dirty, and indolent ; while no
pains seems to be taken, either by the Government
or by any Benevolent Society, to elevate them, by
education and training, above their present state.

The general society of Halifax, of which we saw a
great deal during our stay here— having been invited
out to parties almost every day — appeared to be more
like that of an English seaport town, than any we had
met with since leaving home. The official, profes-
sional, and mercantile classes, all mingle on a footing

KOVA SCOTIA.

34^2

of friendly equality ; and the members of each are
so closely connected by family ties of relationship or
intermarriaps, that there is more of cordiality and
affection witnessed in their intercourse with each
other, than is usually seen either in England or in
America. The men are in general intelligent, frank,
and gentlemanly in their deportment, and have the
ruddy glow of health which is more frequently seen
on the European than on the American side of the
Atlantic. They are entirely British in their feelings,
and loyal to a degree that reminds one of the reign
of George the Third, and the threatened invasion of
England by Napoleon, when it was not enough to
be loyal, but every one was expected to make con-
stant profession of his being so, to prevent his beino-
classed among the disaffected. Here, as in Canada!
there is a large class of Reformers, who contend for
the necessity of Responsible Government; — by which
is simply meant, that while the Sovereign at home
shall have the appointment of the Governor, and the
nomination of the Legislative Council— the members
w the Executive Council, corresponding to our
Cabinet Ministers in England, shall be selected from
^at party which has the majority in the House of
Representatives, so that the acts of the Executive
shall be somewhat in harmony with the public

opinion, as expressed by the choice of their dele-
gates.

The ladies of Halifax, without being so aris-
tocratic as tbe ladies of England, or so handsome as
those of the United States, form a happy medium
between both, and are in many respects more agree-
able than either. In person, they appear to resemble

HALIFAX.

Si3

the American women, in being usually slender in
figure, regular in features, and pale in complexion,
with dark eyes and dark hair. But in their voices
they are entirely English, having that rich fulness
of tone, and distinctness and decision of utterance,
which is so superior to the thin voices and drawling
twang of the Americans. Without pretending to be
literary or scientific, they are almost all well-read
and well-informed ; and there is a pleasing frankness
and agreeable vivacity in their manners, which is
peculiarly charming. For cordial, friendly, and
lasting intercourse, their manners, habits, and feel-
ings, seem to be well adapted ; and from all we saw
and experienced in the many agreeable families,
whom we had the privilege and pleasure to know,
our impression was, that we had never mingled in a
society in which more of unostentatious, but substan-
tial hospitality, and sincere kindness, was manifested,
either towards strangers, or among each other, than
in Halifax.

In the neighbourhood of the town are some agree-
able residences, at distances of two or three miles
out ; and these, like the town-houses, are all much
better furnished than their exteriors would lead one
to expect. Fortunately for the people of Halifax,
the love of show, and the display of ostentation in
their houses, equipages, and dress, has not spread
among them as it has done among their neighbours
of the United States ; so that though they do not
live in such fine houses, and cannot boast such rich
carpets, mirrors, and other decorative furniture for
their dwellings, or such costly and extravagant ward-
robes for their persons, as are to be seen in even the

?JOVA SCOTIA.

second and third rate cities and towns in America,
they enjoy quite as many substantial comforts, enter-
tain their friends in a social interchange of hospi-
talities much more frequently ; and above all, are
free from those fearful anxieties which are insepara-
ble from extensive speculation and mercantile em-
barrassment, there having been no stoppage of any
bank in Halifax since its foundation, and only one
bankruptcjr has taken place among the merchants
here, in the long period of eight years I

The agricultural operations carried on near the
town, and the state of the farms within a few miles
of it, are greatly superior to anything that we saw
in Canada. This is attributed to the exertions and
example of a single individnal, the late Mr. John
Young, who came here from Glasgow about thirty
years ago, and introduced the Scotch system of farm-
ing on his own estate, which afterwards became
imitated throughout other parts of Nova Scotia. He
published a series of letters on the subject of a<rri-
culture and the breeding of cattle, under the signa-
ture of Agricola, which still enjoy great and deserved
celebrity, and which led to the formation of an Agri-
^Itural Society, under the patronage of Lord
Da housie. The fields of his farm, though deprived
of the benefit of his own superintendence, are more
like English fields than any we had seen since leav-
ing home ; and the produce of the estate is still more
^ghly valued than that of any other in the Province.
His sons have distinguished themselves as writers on
Colonial subjects, the fisheries, commerce, and cur-
lency, and latterly on the subject of Responsible
Government, one of them being a leader of the

HALIFAX.

345

Reform party in the House of Representatives, and
both being eminent in their profession as lawyers.*
There are some beautiful carriage-drives in the
neighbourhood of Halifax, one which goes out to the
south, near the entrance to the harbour, round a
point called Point Pleasant, and thence up into one
of the prettiest little bays that ean be imagined ; the
road all the way being macadamized, the scenery
pleasing, and the breeze from the water refreshing.
Another delightful drive goes out at the north side
of the town, passes the Narrows, and brings you
upon the shores of the Bedford Basin, along which
the drive continues, presenting an uninterrupted
view of its ample expanse of water, bordered by the
surrounding hills. Both these roads were executed
under the direction of Sir Colin Campbell, and added
much to his popularity.

My lectures were given in the Church of St.
Andrew’s, and were attended by audiences exceeding
a thousand in number ; the clergy of the Established
Church, and the ministers of other denominations,
vying with each other in their endeavours to secure
the attendance of the members of their respective
congregations ; and a parting address on Temper-
ance, delivered in the Masonic Hall, on the^vening
before our leaving Halifax, was productive of the
best effects, in adding largely to the members of the
Society, and also to the increase of its funds.

* The Reform member has since been elected Speaker of the
House.

CHAP. XXII.

General Description of the Province of Nova Scotia — Area,
extent, and position — History of its discovery and first settle-
ment — Repeated captures and transfers between England and

France — Shameful expulsion of the Acadians — Topography

Climate and productions — Value of Exports and Imports

Estimated value of moveable and immoveable property

Towns of the Coast— Interior Administration of Justice.

The Colony of Nova Scotia, of which Halifax is the
capital, is very nearly an island ; being connected to
the continent of North America by a narrow isthmus
of only ten miles across, from the head of the Bay
of Fundy to the Straits of Northumberland, near
Prince Edward Island. It lies between latitude
43° to 46° north, and is therefore about 5° further
south than the southern coast of England ; and its
longitude is from 6l° to 67° west. It is estimated
to be nearly 300 miles in length from north-east to
south-west, and of varied breadth from 50 to 100
miles in different parts. It has an area of about
15,620 miles, or nearly 10,000,000 of acres, of
which 5,000,000 perhaps may be deducted for rivers,
lakes, and rocky surface, leaving therefore about
5,000,000 of acres of cultivable soil. It has, on the
north-east, the island of Cape Breton, separated from
it by the narrow strait called, the Gut of Canseau ;
on the north. Prince Edward Island ; on the west.

HALIFAX.

347

the Bay of Fundy and New Brunswick ; and on the
south and east, the Atlantic Ocean.

The sea-coast is everywhere bold and rocky, with
deep water for the navigator, and a continued suc-
cession of creeks and bays for shelter. The interior
is undulated, but not mountainous ; there being no
elevation greater than 7 oi" 800 feet above the level
of the sea, over all its surface. The bed of the whole
territory appears to be granite, with trap and slate ;
there are also beds of sandstone for building, gypsum
and lime for manure, and immense beds of coal
for fuel ; with indications of iron, lead, and copper,
in many parts ; promising a rich reward to the future
toil of those who may be enterprising enough to
bring them from the bowels of the earth, when the
territory shall be more fully peopled.

The history of Nova Scotia may be briefly told.
It was first discovered by the Cabots in 1497 >
visited by the Mai'quis de la Roche in 1598 ; and
was first colonized by the French, under l)e Monts,
in 1604, when it was called Acadia. In 1613, how-
ever, the English sent a small expedition to expel
the French, and take possession of Acadia, on the
ground of their navigators having been the first to
discover the territory. This practice of claiming a
property in every land discovered, as if there were
no higher title, is happily ridiculed by one of the
writers of the day, in this quaint couplet

“ For these were the days — to all men be it known,

That all a man sailed by, or saw, was his own.”

But even this was not literally true, for it was rather
the monarchs of the hardy navigators, than the

348

NOVA SCOTIA.

adventurous mariners themselves, who claimed the
territories because their subjects had discovered them.
Accordingly in 1621, King James the First granted
the whole of this country of Acadia to Sir William
Alexander, and changed its name to Nova Scotia.
The boundary line then fixed for the territory was
one drawn from the river St. Croix to the St. Law-
rence, so that it included all the present colony of
New Brunswick, as well as a part of Lower Canada
flora Bic Island to Gaspe. In conformity with the
usage of the times, this grant was made on the royal
word “for ever; ” but in treaties, grants, and diplo-
matic documents, the words “ eternal peace and
amity,” and “ perpetual and undisturbed possession,”
have a very limited meaning ; their true signification
eing only just as long as may suit the convenience
or interest of the parties to let this “eternity ” con-
tinue, which may be twenty years, or ten, or only
one, as circumstances may render expedient.*

I remember an anecdote so strictly in point to illustrate this,
that I cannot refrain from mentioning it. When I was at Shiraz
in Persia, in 1816, 1 lived in the house of an exiled Indian prince
named Jaffier All Khan, who was very much attached to the
EnghsMnd who had, before this, kindly entertained the estimable
Henry Martyn, the lamented Church of England Missionary, under
the same roof, and was delighted to hear that we were both natives
of the -same county, Cornwall. The father of Jaffier Ali Khan
had ceded some territory among the Northern Circars, under the
residency of Madras, to the East India Company ; in considera-
tion of which, the Company, through the Madras government,
undertook to pay, to himself and the dependent members of his
ami y, certain fixed annuities, which were to be guaranteed to
hm!^ “‘Perpetoty forever.” After a few years had elapsed,
l.o«ever, the Prince found his annuity considerably reduced in

HALIFAX.

34-9

Charles the First, therefore, soon put an end to
the “for ever” of his predecessor James; and
shortly after his accession, this monarch sold what
his royal parent had previously given away. This
was done by the institution of a new order of Nova
Scotia baronets, which were limited to 150 in num-
ber. To each of these baronetcies, a grant of land
in the province was attached, and the titles and
territory were sold to such persons as would under-
take to make certain payments to the crown, in aid
of settlement, as it was called, but in reality to reple-
nish the King’s privy purse.

Many of the original French settlers, however,
remained in Acadia ; when Cromwell, in 1 654,
sent a force to dislodge them, and was successful.
In the reign of Charles the Second, it was again
ceded to France, by the treaty of Breda, in 16G7»

amount ; and no reason being assigned for this, he wrote, first
to India, and then to England, but could get no satisfactory
explanation on the subject. He then thought it possible that the
words “ perpetuity ” and “ for ever ” might have a different
meaning in English, from their equivalents in Persian, or that
some change had taken place in the general acceptation of the
terms ; as words sometimes grow obsolete and change their mean-
ing. He therefore sent to England for onfe of the latest and best
editions of the most generally approved dictionary of the English
language, which he spoke imperfectly, but which he could read
pretty well; and on turning, with great eagerness and anxiety, to
the words in question, he found that “ perpetuity ” meant exactly
as he had supposed, “ without change or cessation and that “ for
ever ” was only another and stronger mode of expressing the
same “continual duration.” But he found that at the India House,
as in the courts of other monarchs, “perpetual and everlasting ’
meant only “ as long as might be expedient, and no longer.”

S50

NOVA SCOTIA.

and remained in her possession till 1689, when
it was taken by the English, with an expedi-
tion from Massachusetts, then a British Colony,
under the command of Sir William Phipps. The
leader of this expedition was one of the most remark-
able men of his day. He was the son of a very
humble blacksmith, and was brought up as a shep-
herd’s boy. At the age of eighteen, he was first
apprenticed to a shipwright; and before he was
twenty-one, he built a small vessel, with which he
offered to raise some treasure, sunk in a Spanish
ship, that was wrecked some years before at the
Bahamas. His offer was made to the English
court, and was accepted ; and with the assistance he
received from thence, he succeeded in recovering
300,000/. from the wreck. Of this he retained a
portion sufficient to enrich himself, and the rest was
given to his patron, the Duke of Albermale, who
had assisted him in the equipment of the ship in
which he performed this expedition. He was after-
wards made a knight by King James the Second ;
and subsequently Governor of Massachusetts, in
1691, by the authority of William the Third.

Another change took place in the possession of
Nova Scotia, when it was ceded a second time, by
the Treaty of Ryswick, in 1696, to France, who
held It till 1710, when it was again captured by the
English, with an expedition from Boston ; it was
finally ceded to the British in the reign of Queen
Anne, in I7IS, since which it has remained in our
undisturbed possession.

The first large accession of British settlers that
went to Nova Scotia, embarked in the year I749.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

351

They consisted of about 4,000 adventurers, retired
officers, and others, who were encouraged by a Par-
liamentary grant of 4,000/. to assist them in their
settlement. They landed at Chebucto, where they
founded Halifax, and then gradually planted them-
selves in the interior. As there were many French
settlers still remaining in the inland parts of Nova
Scotia, these were expelled by the British, and driven
across the Bay of Fundy, to what now constitutes
New Brunswick. This forcible expulsion of the
French was attended with atrocities of which Eng-
lishmen may well be ashamed— • such as the burning
down the towns and villages of the peaceable and
unoffending inhabitants, the ejection from their
property and homes of the rightful possessors,
and the barbarous massacre of even women and
children.

In 1758, under George the Second, the first con-
stitution for the government of the Colony was
given. It embraced the three bodies of the House
of Assembly, the Legislative Council, of 12 mem-
bers, appointed by the Crown, and the House of As-
sembly, of 41 members, elected by 40-shilling free-
holders, for 7 years, as in England. But the powers
of the two branches appointed by the Crown, were
too powerful to admit of much influence on the part
of the Assembly elected by the people. The friends
of reform and improvement were, therefore, con-
tinually struggling against the united powers of the
Governor and his Council, until of late, when theii
labours have been crowned with success, in obtaining
the object of their desire, a responsible government,
meaning by that, an Executive taken from the party

S52

NOVA SCOTIA.

that possesses a majority in the House of Assembly ;
just as in England, the ministers are always taken
from the party that commands a majority in the
House of Commons. Since this, which is of com-
paratively recent date, a life and spirit has been
infused into the public feeling of the Nova Scotians,
which is likely to be productive of the best effects on
the future prosperity of the Colony.

The form of the peninsula of Nova Scotia, is a
narrow and irregular oblong, running from north-east
to south-west, for about 300 miles. On the south-east
coast, which faces the Atlantic, the shores are so
broken and indented into bays, that there are no less
than 26 good harbours, within the line occupied by
this side ^ and of these, 12 are large enough for the
shelter and accommodation of the largest ships of
war, while the other 14 > are spacious and deep enough
for the largest merchant-ships now in use. The
harbour of Halifax, with its magnificent internal
basin, has no superior in the world.

In the undulating surface of the interior, there
are many pretty valleys, and some soft and pic-
turesque scenery, while the soil is generally fertile,
and the country well wooded. Many small rivers
and streams, issuing from the numerous internal
lakes, irrigate the land in their course ; and the pur-
suits of agriculture and pasturage may be almost
everywhere carried on with pleasure and profit.

The climate of Nova Scotia has a general resem-
blance to that of Canada, except that it is more
humid, from being surrounded by the sea. The
winter is long, seven months at least, but the severest
months of January and February never exhibit so

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

353

low a state of the thermometer as in Canada. There,
it often goes down to 20° below zero : here, 10°
above zero is the general limit. The heat in sum-
mer, during the months of June, July, and August,
ranges from 90° to 95°. The spring is very trying,
from the damp easterly winds, occasioned by the
breaking up of the polar ice, and the floating by of
vast masses of icebergs ; at this season, the
vicissitudes of temperature are so great, that a
change of 50° in 24 hours has been known. The
autumn is regarded as the most agreeable period of
the year, the months of September and October
being equal to the finest weather in these months in
England. The climate is undoubtedly very healthy ;
rheumatic afiections are the most frequent, and
sometimes consumption ; but intermittent fevers and
agues, so frequent on the American continent, are
here almost unknown ; and the inhabitants generally
live much beyond the ordinary term of European
life_70, 80, and 90, being ages frequently met with,
and sometimes above 100.

The products of Nova Scotia are varied and abun-
dant, though its resources are scarcely begun to be
developed. Grain, of every kind in use by its inha-
bitants, may be produced in almost every part of the
island, the yield varying from 25 to 40 bushels per
acre of wheat, 40 to 50 bushels of oats, 200 to 300
bushels of potatoes, and 2 to 3 tons of hay per acre.
Salt marshes are sometimes enclosed from the bor-
ders of the sea, and these yield, on their first har-
vest, 60 bushels of wheat to the acre. Barley,
buckwheat, peas, and beans, are also cultivated 5

2 A

354

NOVA SCOTIA.

and every kind of English vegetables and fruits may
be raised in all parts of Nova Scotia in perfection.

It has been stated that there are about 5,000,000
of acres of cultivable surface in Nova Scotia, and
the largest portion of this has been granted at dif-
ferent times to favoured individuals, or land com-
panies, on conditions which most of them have failed to
fulfil j but it is thought that not more than 500,000
acres, or one-tenth only of the whole, are yet under
cultivation. There remains, therefore, an immense
field yet open in this Colony for settlers, and un-
cleared or unimproved land may be had as cheap as
in any part of America, varying from 2s. 6d. to 5s.
per acre, and from that upward, according to its
locality and advantages. Though some parts of the
country has only a scanty soil, in others it is rich and
deep ; and in the neighbourhood of Pictou, on the
north-west of the coast, within the Gulf of St. Law-
rence, there have been seven successive crops of
wheat, raised, without rotation, or without manure.

There are still fine forests of excellent timber in
the interior, including oak, beech, birch, ash, maple,
and other trees, which are felled from year to year
for exportation, to the value of about 150,000/. per
annum. In these forests there are still some wild
animals, but they are every year diminishing in
numbers. The moose deer, the bear, the fox, the
otter, the squirrel, the martin, and the mink, still
furnish furs to the hunters who pursue them ;
and these have yielded an export of about 5,000/.
value per annum. The great staple of the export
trade, however, is fish, which abounds around the

SHIPPING AND PRODUCE.

355

coasts, in the bays, lakes, and rivers. A full fourth
of the inhabitants are thought to be engaged in the
catching and curing of cod, herrings, mackerel, hali-
but, and other sea fish, as well as in the capture of
whales and seal for their oils, and the latter for their
skins. The value of the fish and oil exported yearly
amounts to at least 200, 000^. Add to this, the
produce of the mines of coal and iron, in Nova
Scotia and Cape Breton, extending, it is said, to
50,000/. a year more, and we shall see that though
Nova Scotia is notone-fifth peopled, it is yet rich and
productive, from its own natural resources, and these
are capable of much fuller development, when capi-
tal and population shall be attracted to her shores.

The shipping amount to 150 vessels, measuring
at least 15,000 tons, and employing nearly 1,000
men. They sail principally to the West Indies and
the United States, and the amount of the exports
given for the year 1839, had these among their
largest items —

Timber of various kinds . . , . £ 75,000

Flour from the wheat of the Colony 180,000
Salted beef and pork .... 25,000

Produce of the coal and iron mines 120,000
Fisheries of various kinds . . . 150,000

The immoveable property of the Colony in lands,
buildings, &c., has been estimated to be worth 16
millions ; the moveable property, in ships, furniture,
implements, stocks of various commodities, and
monied capital, at 20 millions ; and the property
annually created within the Colony has been stated
at 8 millions and 10 millions, according to different
authorities, but these estimates are necessarily some-

2 A 2

356

NOVA SCOTIA.

v/hat uncertain, though they are no doubt not very
far from the truth. That which is more certain is,
that while the revenue is not more than 50,000^.,
the expenditure is nearer 100,000/., the difference
having to be borne, as that of all our Colonies must
be, by the mother-country.

Of the principal City and Port of Halifax, a
description has already been given. The only other
place worthy of note is Annapolis, which is on the
western coast, looking towards New Brunswick, and is
the oldest settlement on the continent of North Ame-
rica, having been founded in 1604. It was originally
called Port Royal, but its name was changed to Anna-
polis, when it was ceded to the British in the reign
of Queen Anne, in compliment to that monarch. It
has a good river, and a noble harbour ; hut from
the rapid growth of Halifax, on the outer coast
towards the Atlantic, Annapolis never thrived, and
is still only a small town of less than a hundred
houses. There are also the towns of Windsor, Fal-
mouth, Truro, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow,
Yarmouth, Cornwallis, Dartmouth, Amherst, and
Londonderry ; but they are all small and unimpor-
tant.

The Supreme Court of Judicature sits at Halifax,
but there are District Judges for the Country. The
common and statute law of England are here in
force, as well as the acts of the local Legislature, and
on the whole it is believed that justice is fairly
administered in a manner satisfactory to all classes
of the people.

CHAP. XXIII.

Cape Breton — Position — Area — Originally part of the French
Colony of Acadia — Subsequent history — Religious wars — Lax
morality of the Puritans — Destruction of Louisbourgh — Value
of its mines of iron and coal — Singular phenemenon of gas and
boiling water — Population — Classes — Occupations — Shipping
and trade — Prince Edward Island — Attempt to restore feudal
government — Lands disposed of by State Lottery — Area, pro-
duce, and population of the Island— Chief town — Legislature
— Commerce — Present condition.

Cape Breton, once a separate Colony, but now
united to Nova Scotia, — and Newfoundland, once
united to Nova Scotia, but now a separate Colony, —
have each so natural a connection with the other,
that a brief account is required of both, to make this
section of the work complete.

Cape Breton lies at the north-east end of Nova
Scotia, separated from it only by the narrow channel
of the Gut of Canseau, through which we passed
on our way from Pictou to Halifax. It is about
100 miles long by 80 broad, and covers an area of
nearly 2,000,000 of acres. It was first settled by the
French, when they founded Acadia, and was by them
called L’Isle Royal. It was on the south-east side
of this island that the French founded the town of
Louisbourgh, in 1720, where they employed an im-

358

CAPfl BRETON.

mense number of men for 25 years, in erecting strong
fortifications, the whole cost of which was estimated
at 30,000,000 of livres. This was invaded in the
reign of George the Second, by English Colonists
from Massachusetts, in 1745 ; and after a most
obstinate siege and defence, in which there were five
unsuccessful attacks, the whole contest lasting forty-
five days, it was ultimately taken by the British,
but with a loss of more than 4,000 men on each
side.

The most remarkable feature of this contest was,
that it was not so much a national as a religious
war — a struggle of Puritan against Papist— in which
it was the desire and design of the bigoted Protest-
ants of the American Colony to dislodge and scatter
the Catholic settlers who were too near them ; and
it is a curious fact, that the celebrated George White-
field, the contemporary and colleague of John Wesley,
being then in Boston, actually consecrated and blessed
the standard of the Puritan warriors before they em-
barked in their holy war against those whom they
alleged to be little better than infidels ! As a proof,
however, that the standard of morality was not at all
higher among the Puritan assailants than it was among
the Catholic defenders, this fact will furnish suffi-
cient evidence. A few days after they had destroyed
the town and fort of the French, and the British
flag had been flying on the ramparts, two large ves-
sels were seen in the offing as if approaching the
harbour. As two French East Indiamen were about
that time expected to touch at Louisbourgh, on their
homeward voyage to I ranee, it was presumed that
these were the vessels in question. The cunning

LOUISBOURGH.

359

Puritan conquerors, therefore, substituted the French
for the English flag on the ramparts ; and the ships
drawing near enough to observe it, entered the port
in the full confidence of its being still in the hands
of their fellow-countrymen. They had no sooner
cast anchoi-, than they were boarded and taken pos-
session of by the traitorous English, who had thus
decoyed them, under false colours, into portl The
laws and usages of war, perhaps, allow of such de-
ceptions, and the Puritans were not slow to adopt
this lax standard of morality. But war itself is so
anti-christian, and so immoral, that it is perhaps
ureasonable to expect any of its operations to he
otherwise.

At the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 17^8, Cape
Breton was restored to France, in exchange for
Madras, in the East Indies, which had been taken
by the celebrated French Admiral Labourdonnais,
and it continued in the possession of the French till
the war of 1756. It was then attacked by an expe-
dition, consisting of a fleet and army, the former
under the Admirals Holborn and Boscawe^ the
latter under the Generals Lord Loudon, Lord Howe,
and the celebrated Wolfe. Louisbourgh again fell
before its assailants, but the loss of the British was
400 men. There were captured from the French,
on this occasion, eleven stands of colours, and these
were sent as trophies to England. They were first
lodged in the king’s palace at St. Jamess, and t en
conveyed, under an escort of horse and foot soldiers,
with a very numerous procession, accompanie )
* trumpets and kettle-drums, with all their noisy
clangour, to St. Paul’s Cathedral. There they were

360

CAPE BRETON.

hung out as banners, beneath the dome of a Temple
dedicated to the religion of mercy, forgiveness of
injuries, and peace ; and there, very probably, some
of their tattered remnants may still be seen, in most
inharmonious contrast with the dove, the olive
branch, the cross, and the other emblems of the
religion of Him who said “Love your enemies, re-
turn good for evil, and do violence to no man.”

On this occasion, Louisbourgh was entirely dis-
mantled, and its fortresses destroyed ; and many ves-
tiges of the wrecks of large ships of war are still seen
m Its waters. It was not till 1820, however, that Cape
Breton was made a county of Nova Scotia, since
which It has so continued, and sends two members to
the legislature at Halifax.

The whole area of the island is estimated to cover
4,087 square miles, but considerable deduction must
be made from this for the many lakes and bays with
which It IS covered and indented. One part of the
island IS divided from another bv a noh1«

d on this island alone. When '
was struck at a depth of 180

SYDNEY.

361

feet, a large jet of water flew out with great violence,
and a violent hissing noise, as it was at boiling heat.
It appears that the water, here conflned and pent up
with the coal, is so charged with bituminous gas,
that when it is even in tranquil pools, it will burn at
the surface, like spirits. In consequence of its being
known to possess this property, the washerwomen of
Cape Breton are accustomed to dig pits, of a few
feet in depth, till the water begins to ooze out ; they
then put pebbles into the pit so as to cause the water
to rise to the surface, when they light the gas vapour
rising from it, as they would the vapour of brandy or
any other spirit, and on this they boil their water for
washing, the flame continuing for weeks and even
months, by the continual supply of the bituminous
gas from the earth, if not put out. In an examina-
tion of persons familiar with this phenomenon, it
was stated, that on the miners striking a new vein of
coal, the gas would sometimes escape with such vio-
lence and rapidity, as to cause a report like that of a
gun ; while the boiling water would issue out with
such force, as to make a sound like the hissing of
thousands of snakes. These mines are claimed by
the Crown, and are at present leased out to a mining
company for 3,000/. a year, with great benefit, it is
said, to the adventurers. The mines were first
opened about fifty years ago, and have increased in
value ever since. The produce of coal is about.
80,000 tons per annum, selling at 15s. per ton,
exported chiefly from Sydney to the United States
and to the British Provinces. The town of Sydney
is very small, containing not more than a t^ousan
inhabitants. It was only first settled ni 1823, but

362

MAGDALEN ISLANDS.

its position is sufficient to ensure it future eminence.
The whole population of Cape Breton is reckoned to
be 40,000, of whom not more than 600 are employed
in the mines; the remainder are engaged in the
fisheries and in agriculture, and all classes are
removed from want; while most of the whole number
are in a comfortable condition.

The population includes some of the aboriginal
Indians, to the extent, it is said, of about 300, who
have a reservation of land for their use ; but here,
as elsewhere, they are gradually dwindling away.
Those engaged in the fisheries are mostly Acadians

French descent, with an admixture of Scotch from
the western coast of Scotland, and the agricultural
families are principally Irish emigrants ; while the
more skilful among the miners are almost wholly
from Scotland, and the number employed is from
5 to 600.

Some ships are built at Sydney for the fishing and
coasting trade, and the whole number of vessels
employed, includes about 500, ranging from 20 to
250 tons. There are nearly 100,000 acres of land in
cultivation, and the products are similar to those of
Nova Scotia, but a large portion of the surface of
the island still remains unoccupied and untilled.

To the north-west of Cape Breton, are the Mag-
dalen Islands, before spoken of, as seen in our ap-
proach to Pictou. These have about 200 families
settled on the whole group. And to the south-east
of Cape Breton, lies Sable Island, a small low sandy
bank, very dangerous to navigators, on which there
IS a British superintendant, with a few men to render
assistance to ships in distress, and to give aid and

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

363

comfort to shipwrecked mariners thrown upon its
coast.

Prince Edward Island, which lies to the west of
Cape Breton, is a separate Colony, under a separate
government, lying between the latitude of 46 and
47°, and is one of the smallest possessions of the
Crown under a Legislature of its own. Its history
may be briefly told, and it is sufficiently curious to ‘
he given. It was first seen by Cabot, hut first set-
tled by the French, and formed part of the territory
of Acadia, along with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
and Cape Breton. It followed the fate of the Pro-
vince to which it belongs, in the change of its masters,
and in 1758, after the reduction of Louisbourgh,

St. John’s— or Prince Edward Island, as it is now
called— was transferred to the English, and its per-
manent possession confirmed to them by the peace of
1763. Its population was then thought to be about
5,000, wholly of French descent. About this time,
a plan was proposed by Lord Egremont, then
First Lord of the Admiralty, for appropriating and
settling the Island, after this remarkable manner.

It was to be divided into twelve districts, each to be
assigned to an English baron, as his domain, on con-
dition that he should build on it a baronial castle,
dwell in it with his family and dependants, and there
exercise jurisdiction as lord paramount, thus restor-
ing the rude independence of the feudal age in this
remote island ! This plan, as may be readily sup-
posed, was never sanctioned or earned into efiFect.

The manner in which its lands were afterwards
disposed of was not much better. It was by means
of a Government Lottery, which was drawn m

364 .

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

August, 1767. The plan was this. The area of the
whole Island was estimated to contain 1,360,000
acres; its length from east to west being about *14.0
miles, and its breadth varying from 15 to 35 miles.
These acres were divided off into lots of different
extents and different qualities. The tickets or shares
for drawing were distributed by the Government at
home, chiefly to men of rank, court favourites, and
persons who had ministerial influence, and the whole
of the lots were drawn in one day. The only con-
ditions annexed to the holders of prizes were, that
they were to pay small quit-rents of 2s. to fo. an-
nually to the Government, for every 100 acres drawn,
to send out one settler for every 200 acres held, and
to do this within ten years, or forfeit their title to
the land. But though a separate Council was
then formed for the Island, the holders of the estates
thus won by lottery, being chiefly men of rank and
influence, paid so little of their quit-rents, that there
was scarcely any revenue from that source, and the
Government were too tender towards their interests
to enforce a forfeiture. Indeed, instead of suffering
this just penalty, the parties were powerful enough
to obtain parliamentary grants in aid, to make up
the deficiency of their own neglect ; and at length it
ended in the Government consenting to commute the
long accumulated arrears due, for very small sums,
eaving, however, the landed property still in the
Hands of the original drawers in this State Lottery,
or their descendants. Thus, according to Lord
urham’s Report, the absentee proprietors so en-
tirely neglect their lands, that they leave a large
portion in a state of wilderness, hoping, no doubt,

POPULATION AND RESOURCES.

365

for an increased value in course of time, by increased
population, but contributing nothing in the mean-
time towards its improvement ; so that out of these
1,360,000 acres contained in the Island, not more
than 100,000 are cultivated, and this in an inferior
manner to that of the other neighbouring Pro-
vinces.

In 1770 , the number of resident families on the
Island was reduced to 150, in consequence of a most
cruel and barbarous expulsion of the Acadians by
the English. Soon after this, a settlement was
formed by 300 Highlanders, with Capt. Macdonald
at their head ; when others following from various
parts of Britain, a constitution was given to the
Colony in 1773; and its first House of Assembly
was then called together for the business of legisla-
tion. Population now began to increase by immi-
gration, from Europe and from the surrounding
province?, and a great impulse was given to this by
the Earl of Selkirk, who, in 1803, took over from
Scotland a large body of 800 Highlanders. These,
from the prudence of their leader, and their own
industry, became so prosperous, that others readily
joined them ; and at the present time, by the united
effects of natural increase, and immigration, the
population of the Island is believed to be upwards of
40,000. The chief occupation of the people is
agriculture, the pasturing of cattle, and the fisheries.

The island is well adapted for agriculture and pas-
ture, it being estimated that there are not more
than 10,000 acres out of 1,360,000 that are unfit
for the plough. It is divided into three counties.
King’s, Queen’s, and Prince’s. The interior is

36G

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

undulated, but not mountainous, and everywhere
fertile. There are many excellent hays and harbours
round the coast, and three rivers, the Hillsborough,
the York, and the Elliot, each of which is navigable
for several miles up. At the confluence of these
three streams, on the southern side of the Island, is
placed the chief port, Charlotte Town, which is the
capital of the island. The harbour is narrow at its
entrance, but broad within, and is well fortified.
The town itself is neat and pretty, and the view from
the higher part of it, as it rises up from the water, is
very fine. To the south are seen the hlue mountains
of Nova Scotia, across the channel, called Northum-
berland Straits, which separates Prince Edward
Island from the continent, varying from 10 to 20
miles in breadth. On the east and west are seen the
interior of the Island itself, with its fine fields, woods,
lakes, and streams, good farms near the capital, and
fine herds and flocks ; while the town and the

shipping below complete a varied and interesting
picture.

In the last year, the inhabitants, are said to have
raised about 300,000 bushels of oats, 150,000 bushels
of wheat, and 50,000 bushels of barley, with about
1,500,000 bushels of potatoes ; they had at the same
time on the Island, about 7,000 horses, 30,000
oxen and cows, 50,000 sheep, and 20,000 goats.

The fisheries have not been prosecuted with much
vigour fi>om Prince Edward Island, the largest
amount exported in any year being about 3,000
quintals of dried cod ; but shell-fish, especially lob-
sters and oysters, are obtained on its coasts, and in
Its bays, in great abundance, and of the finest quali-

GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION.

367

ties ; and about 2,000 barrels of tbe latter have been
exported in a single season.

Ship-building is carried on also to a small extent
here, the builders usually completing about 60 ships
in each year, from 20 to 400 tons, but not averaging
more than 100 tons each ; the largest tonnage in
any one year did not exceed 10,000.

The government of the Island is vested in a
Governor appointed by the crown. Sir Cha,rles
A. Fitzroy being the present Governor, a council of
nine, nominated by the same authority, and a snug
little House of Assembly, consisting of only 18
members, 4 for each county, and 2 for each of the
3 towns, Charlotte, George, and Prince Town,
elected by the freeholders of the island. The whole
revenue of the Colony, chiefly from light duties on
imported goods, does not exceed 10,000/ a year, and
its local expenditure is kept within the bounds of its
income, hut the civil and military establishment is
paid out of the imperial revenues at home.

The population being now chiefly of Scotch de-
scent, the Presbyterians are the most numerous of
the religious sects. The Church of England is,
however, regarded as the State Church, though here,
no other denomination of Christians contribute to
its support. The Methodists are next in order of
numbers to the Presbyterians ; the Baptists ^

few places of worship for their followers ; and the
descendants of the French Acadians and of the
Catholic Highlanders, have Catholic places of wor-
ship for their uses also; and all these are we

The climate is milder than that of Canada or

368

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

Nova Scotia, from the absence of high mountains,
and the close proximity of the sea. It is also
deemed very healthy, intermittent fever and con-
sumption being almost unknown. Deaths between
the ages of 20 and 50 are very rare, and instances
of 90 and 100 years of age are very frequent.

The last assessment of property of all kinds
amounted to about 4 , 000 , 000 /. The revenue was
only 10 , 000 /., and the expenditure was 15 , 000 /.,
the difference, as in all our Colonies, being paid
by the Government at home. It is clearly im-
politic to permit the continuance of such insigni-
ficant Colonies as these under a separate legislature.
It would be much better to let all the several Pro-
vinces be united under one general government, that
of Canada, for instance, with a Lieutenant-Governor
or Viceroy in each of the separate Provinces ; and
let each send representatives in proportion to their
population and wealth, to the Representative Body
of the General Legislature ; reserving to each of the
Provinces, municipal institutions for their several
cities and towns, so as to unite local legislation for
local purposes, with general legislation for general
objects ; and then to bend the whole force, both of
the Colonial and the Home Government, to the
encouragement of Emigration, as being the only thing
needful to develope the resources and increase the
wealth of the whole. But this is too large a subject
to be treated incidentally, and will be gone into more
fully before this Tour is concluded.

CHAP. XXIV.

Island of Newfoundland — Size — Position — Features of resem-
blance to Ireland — History — Voyages of the Scandinavians
and Welsh — Visit of English and French navigators — British
Admirals and Naval Captains appointed as Governors — First
constitution and Legislature given to the island — Area — Cli-
mate and productions — Rivers — Lakes — Soil — Bays — Har-
bours — Animals — Birds — Fisheries — Ships and men employed
— Seal-fisheries — Perilous enterprises — Exports of fish and
oil — Population — Religious bodies — Future prospects.

The Island of Newfoundland, which lies to the
north-east of Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island,
and stands right in the centre of the channel of
entrance to the great Gulf of St. Lawrence, is one of
the oldest of our western colonies ; and, though
hitherto much neglected, is likely, in time, to become
of great importance. In shape it is not unlike
England, being a triangle, of which the base is towards
the south, and the apex towards the north. In size,
it is larger than Ireland, and has some striking
points of resemblance to it ; in the numerous inden-
tations of its rocky coasts, forming excellent inlets,
harbours, and bays — in the presence of many
rivers and lakes in the interior, as well as extensive
tracts of peat or bog, with buried forests of wood
beneath them— in the absence of all serpents, vipers,
or venomous reptiles — in the moisture of its climate,

2 B

NEWFOUNDLAND.

S7O

and in the excellence of its soil for the growth of the
potato. It is the nearest part of America to
Europe, being only 1656 miles distant from Ireland,
little more than half the distance of New York from
Liverpool. Its longitude is 55 ° west of Greenwich ;
the latitude of Cape Race, its southern extremity,
is 46° 40' north, and of its northernmost termi-
nation, Cape Bauld, 51° 40'. It is separated from
the coast of Labrador, by the Straits of Belle Isle,
which have a varying breadth of from 10 to 15
miles.

There is now good reason to believe that New-
foundland was visited by the Northmen as early as
the year 1001, when Bruin, one of the sea-kings or
pirates, of Iceland was here. When at Boston,
during our tour through the United States, I
attended a lecture on the Voyages of the Northmen,
delivered by the Hon. Edward Everett, then Gover-
nor of Massachusetts, in which the evidence of these
Voyages of the Northmen, recently published by the
Antiquarian Society of Denmark, was analyzed and
criticized with great skill and judgment ; and the
result was a perfect conviction on my own mind of
the authenticity of their expeditions.* From Hack-
luyt’s Collection of Voyages and Travels, completed
and published in the reign of Elizabeth, we learn
that in the year 1 170, Madoc, a Prince of Wales,
went with ships and followers, to a country west of

» Mr. Everett is now Minister from the Court at Washington
in London, and well sustains the dignity of his mission. The
greatest men in America, including Presidents, Judges, and Sena-
tors, frequently assist, by pu!)lic lectures, to Instruct their fellow-
countrymen, and are honoured and applauded for their labours.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

371

Ireland, many days’ sail distant, where he settled
and remained ; and the evidence on this subject,
though slight, is neither contradictory nor improbable.
Of both of these early voyages, however, all recollec-
tion seemed to have been lost when Cabot made his
discovery of Newfoundland in June, 1497 * The first
land seen by him was called Prima Vista, or First
Sight, — Cabot, being an Italian, though sailing from
Bristol under a patent from King Henry the Seventh.
It turned out to be a small island, around which were
seen innumerable multitudes of the cod-fish called
Baccalao, so this name was given to the island, which
it still retains. A cape to the north of this, a little
westward, is still called Bonavista, which gives its
name also to an extensive bay. The larger island
called Newfoundland, was thought, by this navigator,
to be a continent ; and it was not till some years
after its first discovery, that its insular position was
established.

Cabot brought home with him from hence, some
of the native Indians, who spoke a language which
no one but themselves understood, and they w^ere
naturally objects of great curiosity at the time in
England.

The report of the countless shoals of fish seen on
the coast, tempted several nations to send out ships
and men, so that before many years had elapsed,
there were seen English, French, and Portuguese
vessels fishing on the banks of Newfoundland, as
well as around its coasts.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert, half-brother of Sir Walter
Raleigh, appears to have been the first who had a
patent to colonize the country. This was granted

2 B ^2

372

NEWFOUNDLAND.

by Queen Elizabeth in 1579, and gave him the pri-
vilege to colonize 200 leagues of this newly-found
coast — so extensive were the grants of these early
days. After a disastrous expedition, and a delay of
several years, during which the patent expired. Sir
Walter Raleigh himself obtained another ; and build-
ing a strong ship, which he called after himself, he
sailed, with his relative. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, as his
admiral, but was compelled to put back to Plymouth,
from the breaking out of a contagious disorder on
board his vessel, and never resumed his voyage.
The rest of the little fleet went on and reached
Newfoundland in safety, the squadron consisting of
three small vessels, and a mere boat, the Delight of
120 tons, the Swallow of 50, the Golden Hind of
50, and the Squirrel of only 10 tons ! Only one of
these reached England on the return voyage, — the
little Squirrel, with Sir Humphrey Gilbert on
board, having foundered in a heavy gale off the
Azores, his last expression being, “ We are as near
to heaven by sea as we are by land.”

In I6l0, King James I. granted a royal patent to
the Lords Bacon, Verulam, Northampton, Baron
Tanfleld, and others, including the Lord Chancellor,
the Chief Justice, and many peers, as “ Adventurers
of the Cities of London and Bristol,” to occupy cei*-
tain of the coasts and flsheries. But these great
personages not being competent to manage such
affairs, and trusting to agents and deputies, not well
chosen, honest, or discreet, the speculation failed,
and their scheme was abandoned.

The first permanent settlement made here was in
1623, when Sir George Calvert, afterwards Lord

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

373

Baltimore, who planted Maryland in America,
souo’ht here an asylum for the free exercise of his
religion as a Roman Catholic, a body of Christians
then much persecuted and oppressed in England and
Ireland, from whence Lord Baltimore came. He
made his son Governor of the Colony, which he
called Avalton, after the ancient name of Glaston-
bury in Somersetshire, where it was believed that
Christianity was first preached in England ; the
reason of this choice being, that this was the first
place in which, as he considered, Christianity was
first preached in this newly discovered country.
Lord Baltimore, however, subsequently left this, and
went to Maryland in America, where he founded the
city still bearing his name, and Avalton is still re-
tained as the name of the principal district of New-
foundland, in which the chief city and port of St.
John’s is situated.

In 1633, Charles I. gave a patent to Lord Falk-
land, to found a settlement here, and a large number
of Catholics were sent out from Ireland. Long pre-
vious to this, the French had formed settlements on
various parts of the coast, but chiefly the west ; and
at this period many contests occurred between them
and the English, for the exclusive right of fishing in
particular localities.

Soon after the accession of William III. in 1692,
the question was taken up warmly, and a force sent
out to protect the English fisheries. And in I 7 O 6 ,
Queen Anne was addressed by the Parliament on
the subject. But the war in the Low Countries
then engaging all the force and means of England,
nothing was done. The French accordingly held

374 -

NEAVFOUNDLAND.

possession and supremacy till 171-5, when, by the
treaty of Utrecht, Newfoundland was ceded to Eno--
land, reserving only certain rights of fisheries on the
eastern, northern, and western coasts.

The first British Governor that was appointed
over the whole Island, was in 1728. This was Lord
Beauclerk. Previously to this, Newfoundland had
formed part of the government of Nova Scotia.
Lord Beauclerk, however, being a member of the
House of Commons, did not like to vacate his seat ;
so, while he accepted and retained the office of
Governor, and its emoluments, he sent out Captain
Osborne, of the navy, as his deputy. From that
period onward, it was the custom to appoint naval
men as Governors, because the chief business of
the Island was fishing, and its chief visitors seafaring
men. Among the Governors are the names of
Admirals Rodney, Byng, Hardy, Sir Hugh Palliser,
Captain Byron, Admiral Gambler, Sir John Duck-
worth, Sir Richard Keats, Sir Thomas Cochrane,
and others, who, afterwards rose to distinction in
the naval service. The celebrated Captain Cook,
the circumnavigator, was also here, engaged in a
survey of the southern coast, where many of the
marks set up by him still remain.

In 1832, under the administration of Sir Thomas
Cochrane, a constitution was given to Newfoundland,
his commission authorizing him to form a legislative
body, to consist of himself as Governor, a Legisla-
tive and Executive Council of seven members, of his
own choice, and fifteen Representatives to be chosen
by the inhabitants of nine districts, into which the
Island was to be divided, to form a House of Assem-

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

£75

bly. In 1833, the first Local Parliament was
opened; and in 1834, Sir Thomas Cochrane was
relieved hy a successor. Captain Prescott, the last of
the naval Governors of the Island, whose adminis-
tration ceased in the summer of 1840.*

The Island of Newfoundland is about 300 miles
in length, from north to south ; and of the mean
breadth of 200 miles from east to west. Its circuit
is about 1,000 miles, and its area 36,000 square
miles. It has a surface of upwards of 23,000,000
of acres, or 3,000,000 of acres more than Ireland ;
but deducting the area of the large lakes of the inte-
rior, it may be said, perhaps, to be about equal to
that of Ireland, or 20,000,000 of acres. Its shape
is a broken and irregular triangle, of which the base
is to the south, running east and west, and the
Island gradually grows narrower till it reaches its
apex on the north. The western coast is the most
regular and continuous, though that is much broken;
the eastern coast is most irregular, being full of deep
bays and inlets of great extent. Indeed the whole
margin of the Island is full of estuaries, indentations,
and creeks. Coming from Cape Race on the
southern coast, and going northward up the eastern
shore, there are the fine Bays of Conception, Trinity,
and Bonavista. Passing on to the west,^ there are
the Bays of Exploits, Notre Dame, and White Bay ;

• Subsequently to this, Major-General Sir John Harvey, the
Governor of New Brunswick, has been appointed to Newfound-
land; and from so much of his administration as is yet known,
the greatest good may be expected from the enhghtened and
liberal measures, and the statesman-like views and sentiments,
which have marked the early period of his career.

NEWFOUNDLAND.

37f)

and from thence on to the north, are Orange, Hare,
and Pistolet Bays, On the south there are Placentia
and Fortune Bays; and on the west, St. George’s
and the Bay of Islands, with many smaller ones.
In the interior are six or seven large lakes, from
twenty to fifty miles long, and forty or fifty smaller
ones, from which issue rivers and streams descending
to the sea. The substratum of the island is granite,
hut there is also slate, lime, and gypsum. Large
forests of wood exist in the interior, and valleys of
good soil. But the centre of Newfoundland is hardly
as well known as the centre of Africa ; there having
been only one traveller, as far as I have heard, Mr.
Cornach, who had ever gone across it, and this was
done with some Indians, the families living on the
game they shot by the way. Towards the south
there are said to be indications of iron. Some of
the hills are from 1,000 to 1,500 feet high ; but no
survey has ever been made of the interior, though
enough is known to render it certain that there°is
abundant room and sufficient soil there to support a
large population.

The chief town and best harbour of the Island is
St. John’s, on the southern portion of the east coast,
lying between Torbay on the north, and the Bay of
Bulls on the south. The harbour is formed by a
hollow between two lofty hills. The entrance to it
through the Narrows is so confined that only one
large vessel can well go in at a time. Precipices of
300 feet high hang over the ship on the one side,
and a lofty hill 600 feet high on the other. The
harbour, when attained, is not large, being about a
mile long, but it has deep water, and is perfectly shel-

TOWN OF ST. JOHN’S.

377

tered from all winds. The entrance is so well forti-
fied as to make it quite safe from any but a very
large naval force. In time of war, a large iron chain
is stretched across the narrowest part of the entrance,
so as to render it impossible for a ship of any size to
pass it.

The town of St. John’s is built across the inner
shore of the harbour, on its northern edge, rising
gradually from the sea ; and having been constructed
by fishermen and traders, has no pretensions to either
symmetry or beauty. The dwellings are chiefly of
wood, the streets very narrow and irregular, and the
whole place is disfigured by stages jutting out from
the sides of the hills and the edge of the beach, for
the purpose of drying fish, in which occupation more
than half the entire population are engaged in the
fishing season. There is a large Government House,
without the slightest claim to admiration for its archi-
tecture, though built of stone, and costing a large
sum of money. But the conviction of these defects
is said to be now pretty general, and some recent
efforts to improve the town, and introduce a higher
style of building, seems to promise better things for

the future. , , , i • i

The western portion of the island, along which

the French have their fishing stations, is accounted
the most fertile ; and the climate there is softer, and
the atmosphere clearer, than in the east, as the f^s
of the Atlantic do not extend far into the Gult. On

theeasternportion.however,thereissufficiencyofgood

soil to grow grain, pasture cattle, and rase fruits
suited to the climate. The winters, as in Canada are
long and severe, high winds more prevalent, as well

378

NEWFOUNDLAND.

as fogs ; but the climate is nevertheless deemed to
be healthy, and instances have been not unfrequent,
of fishermen of 90 and 100 years of age still continu-
ing their occupation. The reason of the fogs that so

frequently occur on the eastern shore is this In the

summer, the icebergs that are disrupted from the
great polar mass of frozen sea, float down past this
island, carried southward by the currents which are
known to flow in this season from the polar circles to
the equator ; and the temperature of the water is then
so much warmer than that of the air, that it gives
out the vapour constituting the fog. This, however,
does not ascend far above the surface ; for it has fre-
quently happened, that while the fog was so dense
below, that vessels, near enough for the crews to hear
each other’s voices from ship to ship, could not be
seen by each other from their decks, they were
nevertheless each visible from their respective mast-
heads, where the atmosphere was quite clear. Some
of these icebergs which float by the island are of
immense size, several miles long, and others smaller ;
and when the rays of the sun are opposite to the
direction in which they appear, they present the
most sparkling and brilliant appearances.

Of wild animals there are still found, in the inte-
rior of the island, deer, beavers, wolves, bears, foxes,
hares, and otters, which are shot and caught for
their flesh and furs. The celebrated dog of New-
foundland is getting scarce ; the genuine species is
said to be quite black, and not so large as the fine
creatures we usually see in England under that name.
Of land-birds, and water-fowls, thei'e are a great
variety j the sea-eagle, the fish-hawk, the raven, the

NATURAL mSTORV.

379

crow, the strike, the blackbird, the night-hawk, the
owl, the snow-bird, the redpole, the robin, besides
grouse, ptarmigan, wild-geese, ducks, teal, widgeon,
and sea-birds in great numbers. The domesticated
animals include horned-cattle, sheep, goats, pigs,
and a rough and hardy race of horses. All these
feed on fish as readily as on grain ; a fact which did
not surprise me, as I remember to have observed the
same thing in the Persian Gulf, where at Muscat,
Ras-el-Khymar, and other towns on that coast, the
cattle feed on fish, and thrive under the diet ; and
I believe it is sometimes the case on the Scilly Isles,
oif the south-west coast of England.

The finny tribes of the Ocean are, however, the
great source of the wealth, and the great objects of
the enterprise of the Newfoundlanders, though they
do not neglect the produce of their rivers and lakes.
In these are found salmon, trout, and eels ; and all
are caught in great numbers. The Indians love to
pursue the sport by torch-light ; and are very dexter-
ous in spearing the trout, and bringing them up in
great numbers. The lights at the bow of the boat
attract the fish to the surface ; and the Indians,
stationed there, throw their darts into the bodies of
the fish as they turn their side upward, and dexter-
ouslv flinging their prize into the bottom of the
boah procid to take up others. In the M.sionary
Journal of the Island, a statement is made by one of
the missionaries who accompanied an Indian fishing-
a canoe, that in the boat in which he was,
lookout were speared in the course of two hours ;
^ „ the five is of the group 1,000 were k.W
tn the same spaee of time. This ts a method of fish-

880

NEWFOUNDLAND.

ing in which the Chinese are very expert, as I remem-
her on a voyage down the Red Sea, in 1816, that
the carpenter of the ship, who was a Chinese, having
prepared himself with a basket, and a dozen sharp
wooden darts, was lowered over the stern of the vessel,
to take his stand on that part of the rudder which
just rises above the surface; and a shoal of small fish
then following in the ship’s wake, he speared them
almost as fast as we could count them, and had half
a dozen buckets filled and drawn up on deck in less
than half an hour.

Among the smaller fish of the coast, there are
cod, mackerel, and herring, in immense quantities,
the latter coming in spring and autumn, and chang-
ing the colour of the sea by their number. There
are also sole, plaice, and halibut; and lobsters in
such abundance, that they are sold from twopence
upwards, the finest cod at threepence, and other fish
equally cheap; muscles also are found, but no
oysters, though supplies of these come from Prince
Rdward Island. Among the greatest delicacies of
the sea, however, is reckoned the capelin, a small
fish like a smelt, about six inches long, of a green
and brown tinge, with white silvery sides. They
come in immense shoals about the middle of June,
and remain on the coast for six weeks. They cover
the sea for miles in extent, and are pursued by
myriads of the cod-fish, which feeds on them. They
are accounted a great delicacy while they last, and
some few are carefully barrelled and sent to England
as presents, while a large portion is preserved as the
best bait for the cod.

The seal and cod fisheries are, on the whole, the

SF.AL-FISHF,RY.

3S1

most important, and these are carried on with great
vigour and enterprise. Of sealing vessels there are
nearly 300 employed, varying from 60 to 160 tons,
and carrying from 15 to 30 men each, or 8,000 in the
whole. The men are armed with muskets, poles,
and cudgels, all used in killing the seals. They
usually start on their voyage in March, and the
harbours being then often frozen up, they have to cut
a way for their vessels through the ice to the sea.
On reaehing the offing, they beat to the northward
amidst broken ice, with which the sea is then thickly
covered, till they reach the more compact masses,
which are called Sea Meadows. There they find
at this season large herds of seals, the old ones having
come here to give birth to their young, who are now
only a few weeks old ; and their skins being more
valuable than those of the older animals, the greater
pains are taken to secure these. The men land on
these ice-fields, and proceed to the work of destruc-
tion ; the smaller seals are soon despatched by a
blow on the nose with the cudgel, and they are left
bleeding to die, till the colleetors come round ; the
larfmr require the lance or the musket, hut this is
used as rarely as possible, to avoid perforations in
the skin. When as many are killed as may be
found practicable, the men go round, strip oflp the
skin and the fat from the animals, and leave their
carcases on the ice ; these are taken to the ships,
and conveyed to land on their return, which is not
till the vessels are full, or the season draws to a close ;
and such is the havoc among these creatures, that it
is said as many as 500,000 have been killed in a
single season ! The fat of the skins is taken off on

38 ^

NEWFOUNDLAND.

shore, and converted into seal-oil, and the skins
being dried and prepared, form the seal-skin of com-
merce.

There are abundance of whales, grampuses, por-
poises, white and black, and other large fish, in the
seas around Newfoundland, but these are not much
attended to ; and even the cod-fishery on the Banks
is said to be diminishing, though, on the whole, the
general shipping and commerce of Newfoundland is
decidedly on the increase. Fi-om the latest returns
it appears that about 1,000 sail of vessels entered
and departed from the different ports of Newfound-
land in the last year, besides those employed in
the coasting and fisheries. The whole number of
vessels employed in the trade with Newfoundland
are at least 1 , 500 , of 150,000 tons burden, and
employing 30,000 men and boys ; so that it is a fine
nursery for seamen, as in no service in the world
could habits of endurance, vigilance, and readiness
of mind, be better formed than in this. The dark
nights, broken ice, violent gales, and fierce snow-
storms, to which they are exposed, make their occu-
pations more perilous perhaps than that of any other
that can be named. The number of boats employed
during the fishing season is reckoned at upwards of
4,000 ; and the number of men at least 20 , 000 ,
besides 10,000 curers of fish, who occasionally go to
sea. The quantity of cod-fish taken and cured
amounts in general to 1,000,000 of quintals per
annum, and 12, 000 tons of seal-oil alone has been
exported in one year. There are not nearly so many
ships belonging to the English fishing on the Banks
of Newfoundland, however, as formerly ; they now

FOREIGN VESSELS.

383

prefer to keep nearer the shore. During the times
of war, when other vessels could not come to the
Banks, there were often as many as 700 English
vessels seen fishing there in a season ; hut now
there are not more than 1 00, if so many — their places
being supplied by French, Spanish, and American
barques, schooners, and sloops. Of these, the
French employ in all these waters about 600 vessels,
of 60,000 tons, and 13,000 seamen, having a right
of fishing on 450 leagues of coast } and the Ameri-
cans have at least 1,000 vessels, and 30,000 men
and boys, in schooners of from 60 to 120 tons
each.

Vast as arc the numbers of fish taken on the
shores of this island, it would not appear that there
is any diminution in their numbers ; on the con-
trary, it may he safely alleged, that thousands of tons
more of cod, herring, mackerel, and capelin, might
be taken, and yet sufficient remain to breed, so that
the food of mankind from this source might be
almost indefinitely multiplied, if hands sufficient were
employed for that purpose. There is no reason
indeed why the whole coast of Newfoundland should
not be surrounded by settlers, who might combine
the labours of agriculture and fishing, as is done by
the New Englanders in the United States of America,
at Salem, Marblehead, Plymouth, and elsewhere.
Lewenhoek, the celebrated naturalist, is said to have
counted no less than 9,344,000 eggs in the roe of a
single cod ! and without supposing their multiplying
powers to be equal to this immense number, we
know that it is much greater than that of land
animals and birds ; and yet these multiply in vast

384

NEWFOUNDLAND.

numbers, like the sheep on the plains of Australia,
and the pigeons on the banks of the Nile, and in the
forests of Kentucky, almost surpassing the bounds
of credibility.

The whole population of Newfoundland is esti-
mated at about 100,000, of which nearly one-half are
of Acadian and French descent, these being chiefly
on the western coast, and one-half are of British
descent. There are more than half the population
Catholic, as the British include a large number of
Irish emigrants. The Church of England, the
Church of Scotland, and the Methodist body, have,
however, each numerous places of worship, able
ministers, and zealous congregations ; and Sunday
schools are attached to each, and well supported.
Newfoundland is, therefore, fast improving ; and all
that is wanting is population, capital, roads, and
agricultural settlers, to make it richer, and more
competent to self-government, every year.

CHAP. XXV.

Leave Halifax for journey to Windsor — Stage-coach — Intern*
perate passengers — Road — Scenery — Lakes — Autumnal foli*
age — Town of Windsor — River Avon — College — Fertile land
— Neat fields— Excellent farming — Embark in the Maid of the
Mist steamer — Scenery of the river — Bay of Mines — Gather-
ing storm — Anchor under Cape Blow-me-down— Narrow strait

Cape Split— Bay of Fundy — Highest and strongest tides in

the world — Narrow neck or isthmus of Nova Scotia — Heavy
sea in crossing the Bay of Fundy — Town of Cuaco on the New
Brunswick shore — Teignmouth — Shipbuilding and farming —
Highland rocky coasts— Capes and headlands— Arrival at the
City of St. John— Greetings by old Indian and Egyptian
friends.

On Tuesday the 13th of October, we left Halifax
at 7 A. M., in the stage-coach for Windsor, intending
to emhark from thence for St. John and Fredericton
in New Brunswick, the adjoining British Province,
and then go by land across the frontier into the
United States, on our way to New York.

The coach in which we rode was of the American
and not the English kind, and was made, we under-
stood, in the United States, from whence most of
their carriages are imported. Our fellow-passengers
were inferior in appearance and manners to any that
we had for a long time travelled with. Three or
four of the party took drams of spirits before we
left the coach-office, the habit of drinking spirits

386

NOVA SCOTIA.

being more generally, and more openly practised
here, than we had observed it in any of the towns of
Canada.

The road from Halifax to Windsor did not pre-
sent much of interest. The country through which
it passes is very rocky, with only a few small patches
of cultivation, and the trees are generally small ; but
the roads are excellent, the inns neat and clean, and
the perpetual recurrence of small lakes, forming a
complete chain across the country, with the rich tints
of the autumnal foliage, now seen in its most gor-
geous dress, gave great beauty to the scenery.

The distance from Halifax to Windsor is 45 miles,
and we reached it in 7 hours, including stoppages,
the fare being 3 dollars each. The entrance to
Windsor is pretty ; the College-buildings forming a
prominent object on the left hand of the road, on an
eminence ; and the residence of Judge Haliburton,
the celebrated “Sam Slick,” as he has chosen to
designate himself as an author, is also another pretty
object, in the same direction; while the cottage
dwellings of the inhabitants had such an air of pro-
priety and comfort, and were all so neatly ornamented
with flowers and shrubs, that we could not but sup-
pose ourselves among an industrious and thrifty
population. We alighted at a good inn, and, as the
steamer would not be ready to leave for St. John’s
till the following day, we had to remain here till
then.

Windsor is pleasingly situated on a river called
the Avon, which rises about thirty miles to the west-
ward of the town, but is not navigable for ships
bejond this point, nor for boats more than ten miles

WINDSOR.

387

up. The town is seated on the right or southern
bank of tlie river, which is here about a mile across.
Above the town is a closed wooden bridge, built after
the American fashion, which crosses to the other side
of the stream. The town contains a population of
about 1,500 persons, among whom there are a great
number of individuals in easy circumstances, who
live here on fixed incomes, because the place is retired
and everything very cheap, and because the united
attractions of health, pleasing scenery, good shooting
and fishing, and agreeable society, make it an eligible
residence for persons not in mercantile business, and
for those engaged in agricultural pursuits.

The College here was one of the earliest founded
in Nova Scotia ; but, as most parents who can afford
their children a collegiate education, prefer sending
them to England or Scotland for this purpose, the
Institution has never been well sustained. The cost
of board and tuition is very moderate here, the for-
mer being about 25/., and the latter "'ll. a. year ; yet
there are not more than about twenty students in the
college, and thirty younger pupils in the preparatory
academy attached to it. There are three Churches,
Episcopalian, Methodist, and Baptist ; a Court
House, and five inns ; but there is neither a news-
paper, bookseller, nor even a printer, in the place,
nor any nearer than Halifax.

Even here, however, I was solicited to deliver two
of my Lectures during my short stay ; and the Court
House being offered to me for the purpose, and some
written announcements being put into circulation by
the postmaster, an audience of great respectability
was soon collected, to whom, on the ewning of lues-

2 c 2

388

NOVA SCOTIA.

day, and on the morning of Wednesday, the Lectures
were delivered accordingly, and led to urgent requests
that I should remain to continue them ; hut this was
impracticable.

The principal occupation of the neighbourhood is
farming ; and both banks of the river, as seen from
hence, give evidence of great attention to agricultural
operations. We saw no fields, in all our journeys
through the United States, more perfectly ploughed,
or tilled, or cleaner, or more neatly fenced, than
those along the margin of the Avon. The land is
of high fertility, and we were assured that the whole
of the tract of country west of this, towards Annapo-
lis, was much more fertile and beautiful than this.

Ship-building is carried on here to a considerable
extent, and the vessels which we saw on the stocks,
those just launched, and others fitting for sea, were
of as good models as any seen on the Thames in
England. They are built chiefly of fir, will last from
ten to twelve years as good ships, and cost about 81 .
a ton to build, and fit with lower masts and spars,
ready to be rigged for sea.

At 2 p.M. on Wednesday, we embarked at Wind-
sor, on board the steamer. Maid of the Mist, for
St. John. The spring-tide was so high that it over-
flowed all the wharves, and the steamer could not
therefore approach them, so as to enable us to embark
dry. She was accordingly obliged to anchor out in
the stream, and as the current ran at the rate of five
miles an hour, and it blew hard from the westward,
we had some trouble in getting off to her. All her
shipments were required to be made very hastily,
for the tide retires so rapidly, that vessels soon take

BAY OF FUNDY.

389

the ground ; and so great is the rise and fall, about
40 feet at this port, that the bed of the river is left
nearly dry at low water.

We started at half-past two o’clock, and proceeded
down the river Avon, both banks of which were lined
with beautiful farms, and the scenery was extremely
pleasing. Many quarries of gypsum, or plaster-of-
paris, were seen on the way, this being found here in
great abundance, and many cargoes of it are sent
from hence to the ports of the United States. As
we descended the river, which expanded considerably
below Windsor, our course lying first easterly, and
then bending northerly, we opened the entrance to
the Bay of Mines, and saw the high projecting pro-
montory of Cape Blow-me-down, stretching out from
the left, with all the symptoms of a gathering storm
collecting around its lofty head. As the steamer
was old and weak, and of very inferior machinery,
her size being 200 tons, and her engines of only 50-
horse power ; and as a strong west wind, and a flood-
tide of seven or eight knots an hour, was more than
we could hope to stem, the captain thought it prudent
to run in under the Cape at sunset, and anchor there
until the tide should turn, and the symptoms of the
gale disperse.

We according steered in, at sunset, for the land,
and anchored close under the high cliffs of the Cape
in seven fathoms water, about a mile and half from
the shore. The sunset was wild a,nd fierj', the
clouds gathered up thick and black in the north-
west, and though the moon was up, (for it was about
the full,) the darkness was pitchy; and all the
superstitious dread which the seamen of these waters

390

BAY OF FUNDY.

have of Cape Blow-me-down, and Cape Split, both on
this coast, and both as much dreaded as Cape Hat-
teras in the Carolinas, seemed to be participated in
by the captain and passengers. The popular notion
is, that you can never round it without “a blow;”
and hence, say the sailors, it derives its name ;
though there are others, who say that this is a mari-
time corruption of the French name, Blomidon,
which appears in some early charts. On the other
hand, this itself may be a French navigator’s best
orthography of Blow-me-down, if written by the ear.
Be this as it may, strong gusts of wind are likely to
be suddenly felt, and to lay many vessels down on
their beam-ends ; as the contrary currents of wind
meeting at the outlet of three or four different chan-
nels, and encountering this lofty promontory, would
of itself occasion eddies and gusts that most pro-
bably gave rise to its present name. The Cape itself
is about 500 feet high, or 150 feet higher than Cape
Diamond at Quebec. Its lower part is composed of
cliffs of red sandstone, and its upper part is covered
with small pine trees ; but about a mile or two within
the point of the Cape, there are some few patches
of cleared land, and dwellings of settlers.

To the eastward of the Cape, the Bay of Mines
extends up as high as Truro, the midway town be-
tween Pictou and Halifax ; and there are several
smaller creeks and streams, which occupy indenta-
tions of the land, and agreeably diversify the line of
coast.

We remained here at anchor under Cape Blow-
me-down till past midnight, in anxious suspense as
to whether the gale would increase or abate at the

INTEMPERANCE.

391

turning of the tide ; and although one would have
thought that the very jeopardy in which we were
placed, would have secured sobriety in all on board,
there were some so utterly regardless of the peril of
their situation, that they became intoxicated by the
large draughts of brandy in which they indulged.
Long before midnight we had scenes of drunkenness,
blasphemy, and riot in the cabin, among some of
our stage-passengers from Halifax, such as we had
never witnessed in all the three years we had passed
in the United States. The general travelling body
of Americans are, indeed, greatly superior to those
of the same rank in life that we have met with in
the British Provinces, in dress, cleanliness of person,
civility of manners, and general intelligence, but
especially in sobriety ; and though we had been often
disgusted with the tobacco-chewing passengers we
had encountered in the steamboats and stage-coaches
of America, we would willingly have taken the worst
of them in exchange for the drunken, profane, and
still more disgusting brandy-drinkers, with whose
oaths and imprecations, idiot stare, and unmeaning
laughter, we were shocked beyond measure. The
whole scene made us feel the force and truth of
some beautiful lines, which we had read but the
dav before, in an extract from a poem, entitled “ ihe
Tree of Death,” from the pen of Eliza Cook, m
the London Metropolitan Magazine, and transferred
to one of the provincial papers of Halifax—

“ Oh, the glossy vine has a serpent charm,

It bears an unblest fruit,

There’s a taint about each tendrilFd arm,

And a curse upon its root.

^92

BAY OF FUNDY.

Its juice may flow to warm the brow,

And wildly lighten the eye :

But the frenzied mirth of a revelling crew,

Will make a wise man sigh ;

For the maniac laugh, the trembling frame.

The idiot speech, and pestilent breath,

The shattered mind, and blasted fame.

Are wrought by the vine, the Tree of Death.”
These men had been wine-drinkers oriinnally
when in more respectable stations of life ; but ex-
perience has established the fact, that without con-
stant vigilance and great care, the wine-appetite will
become so vitiated, as to require stronger and
stronger stimulants to produce the degree of excite-
raent sought, so that spirits are at length resorted to*
and then the fruit of this Tree of Death soon ripens
and destroys its virtues. ^

■ Z on Thursday mom.

“Wiorale as the

ebb-tide made, and we accordingly weighed anchor

round Cape Blow.me-dowl'^rud Le

btraits which lead out into the Bay of Fundv The
passage through these Straits is about ten miles in
ength, and the breadth from shore to shore is from

w h rocky cliffs towards the sea, particularly on fhe

Spe'kr Th-1^’ 'r Blow-me-lown to
S the St extremitv

of rock "1 " '?i

achou of the wares. like the masses of chalk which
WahriuTf of Ihe We of

“ The Needles. The ebb-tide was here running

HIGH AND RAPID TIDES.

393

like a mill-stream, and in the opinion of the captain,
its speed was not less than ten miles an hour ! The
rise and fall in this upper part of the Bay of Fundy
being, in spring-tides with a westerly gale, sometimes
70 feet perpendicular — the greatest height of tide
known, it is believed, on the surface of the globe ;
and nearly four times the average height of the
tides in the British Channel! We were not more
than half an hour going through the Narrows,
though it was ten miles in length, swept onward by
the rapid torrent of the tide, and the full force of the
engines combined ; and as the sky was now clear,
and the moon bright, the transit through this pas-
sage was most agreeable.

On clearing these Straits, we entered into the
Bay of Fundy, the easternmost fork of which assumes
the name of the Cumberland, and sometimes Chig-
necto Bay, from the promontory of Cape Chignecto,
which divides this fork from the other of the Bay of
Mines. The Cumberland fork runs up to the
narrow neck or isthmus, which connects Nova Scotia
with New Brunswick, and makes the former a
peninsula. This heck is only eleven miles broad,
from the head of the Bay of Fundy to the bottom of
tbe Gulf of St. Lawrence ; so that a ship-canal of
that length across it would enable ships to sail from
Quebec to St. John, in New Brunswick, and so on
to the United States, without passing round Cape
Breton or Nova Scotia, a saving of nearly 300 miles
in the whole distance.

As soon as we had got fairly out into the Bay of
Fundy, we encountered a heavy sea from the west-
ward, as the result of the late gale j and stood

394

BAY Of FUNDY.

across to the northern or New Brunswick shore, the
southern being that of Nova Scotia, to get into
smoother water — the breadth of the Bay here being
about 25 miles. We reached first a small place
where the Indians had a settlement, called Cuaco,
hut where there is now a little town called St.
Martin. Four years since there were not a hundred
persons there, but now there are more than a thou-
sand. The occupation of the male inhabitants is
ship-building, the beach being favourable for launch-
ing, timber abundant, and labour comparatively
cheap ; from the fact that many of the workmen have
little farms to which they give some portion of their
time, while their families assist ; and other portions,
when their immediate labours are not required on
their farms, they can give to ship-building, and thus
unite the profits of both. We saw at least a dozen
ships in different stages of progress as we passed
along the coast, and learnt from the captain that not
less than thirty had been launched from this little
town during the last year.

Just opposite to the town is a small rocky island,
on which is a lighthouse, and at the town itself there
IS a breakwater and pier-harbour for ships. The
coast is bold and steep, and the land is high and
rocky, though there are several patches of cleared
fields in the interior. Some of the cliffs present
diagonal strata, dipping from 20° to 40° downward
to the east. There is a dangerous ledge of rocks
off this town, distant nine miles from the lighthouse,
bearing south-east by compass, which is completely
covei ed at high water, though it is fifteen feet above
the surface at low water ; but being more frequently

ST. MARTIN.

395

covered than bare, this ledge has been the cause
of many shipwrecks. In passing round the point
of the Island, we encountered the full force of the
flood-tide, sweeping upward in a boiling foam, occa-
sioned by the whirlpools, eddies, and counter-currents
round the rock, so that our feeble boat staggered
and rocked to and fro without making any visible
progress ; and we were an hour at least, with all the
force of steam that could be applied, in compassing
about a mile of distance by the shore. When we
got in under the cliffs, and out of the range of this
powerful current, we proceeded at a better rate, but
it was still very slow. The lighthouse is a low
octagonal tower, painted with broad alternate rings
of bright red and white, reminding me of a style of
decoration which I remember to have seen at the
caravanserai of Adjerood, in the Desert of Suez, and
some other Arabian buildings, baths and caravanse-
rais, in Egypt and elsewhere, but quite new to me
on this continent, at least.

Two miles beyond the town of Cuaco, or St. Mar-
tin, we passed round a lofty hut rounded cape, called
Cuaco Head, which rises abruptly from the sea to a
height of about 350 feet, the height of Cape Diamond
at Quebec, with perpendicular cliffs of red sand-stone
overhanging the sea, at least 250 feet in height, the
parts above this being covered with small pine-trees
and brushwood. The strata of the rocks seemed
here to he thrown into the greatest confusion, as if
the effect of some great convulsion ; and as we passed
round the pitch of the Cape, we saw a natural arch
in one of the disjointed masses of rock, through which

BAY OF FUNDY.

S9f)

the view was complete when we got on the other side
of it.

Three miles beyond this, steering westward, along
the New Brunswick shore all the time, we passed
the small town of Teignmouth, where, though there
were not more than twenty houses visible from the
sea, there was a fine large ship on the stocks close
to the beach. Beyond this, about a mile, we passed
round a more rugged and broken promontory than
any we had yet seen, where several small islets were
detached from the cape, in masses of red sandstone,
with verdure and stunted shrubs on the top, within
which there was deep water and a good passage.
This place is called The Horse Shoe when the tide is
in, and the little curve in the coast is filled with the
sea ; but it is called the The Boot, when the tide is
out, and the beach is left dry. Near this also were
many clearings of land under cultivation.

Beyond this, about three miles further, we passed
round a cape called M ‘Cay’s Head, and four miles
further on we rounded Cape Mispeck, about 2 p.m.,
the whole coast being high and rocky, and with very
few good landing-places along its edge. This being
the eastern cape of St. John’s Bay, we shaped our
course from west to north-west, and hauled up for the
town of St. John. As the ebb-tide had began to make
from the river, we saw several ships coming out to
sea, and soon descried the steamer, British America,
for Boston, which, on a given signal, ran down to
meet us, and take out such of our passengers as were
bound to that port. These being transhipped, we
pursued our way, and soon obtained sight of the City

CITTf OF ST. JOHN.

397

of St. John, which, standing on high round, and
spreading upwards from the sea, presented a fine
appearance, as we drew near it. We entered the
hai-hour about four p.m., having been therefore twenty,
six hours on our passage, though the usual time is
about fourteen. The fare was very little, being only
five dollars each ; hut it was the dearest passage we
had ever made, as there was not a single comfort of
any kind obtained in return for the money paid. The
boat was one of the worst in condition, most dirty
and ill provided in every respect, both in acommoda-
tions, furniture, food, and attendants, that we had
anywhere seen on the American waters; and the
passengers the most vulgar, drunken, and disorderly,

^with two or three exceptions only — that we had

ever met with in all our late tour of three years’
duration. We regretted, indeed, that such a vessel
as the Maid of the Mist, and such persons as formed
her crew and passengers, should have the British
flag waving over them. But the disgrace belongs
only of course to the individuals who thus dishonoured
it, and not to the nation or the province to which
they belonged.

I had no sooner landed on the wharf, than I was
accosted by two individuals, who had known me in
other parts of the world ; one was a naval otficei
who had met me at Bombay in 1816, when I wore
the Arab costume and a long heard, after my journey
from Egypt, through Palestine, Mesopotamia, and
Persia ; and another was an officer of the army who
had known me in Egypt the year before I set out on
the journey named. As these gentlemen had both
resided here for some years, their influence, and the

398

CITY OF ST. JOHN.

letters of introduction with which we were abun-
dantly supplied, soon brought around us a number
of the residents of the City, who had been for some
days expecting my arrival, and by these we were
escorted to the St. John Hotel, where we found
excellent accommodations prepared for us. The
attentive proprietors of this establishment keep their
house in the manner of an English, and not an
American hotel, and are therefore not above their
station, but take great personal pains to see that
everything is done which can contribute to the com-
fort of their visitors. We had here, as at Halifax,
the luxury of private sitting-rooms, and a private
table, so rarely to be obtained in the hotels of the
United States ; and we enjoyed it the more highly,
no doubt, from our long privation of the domestic
quiet, and entire freedom from restraint, which this
retirement within the bosom of one's family can
alone ensure ; so that we felt ourselves to be nearer
home, in a manner, by this return to the habits of
our native land.

CHAP. XXVI.

History of New Brunswick and St. John — Situation of the City
and its suburbs— River St. John— Entrance and Rapids —
Public Buildings— Court House — Custom House — Market
House — Square — Banks — Churches — Hotels — Mechanics’
Institute — Schools — Benevolent and Patriotic Societies —
Municipal Government— Destructive fires— Ship-building —
Number and cost of vessels— Commerce— Exports and Imports
— Fisheries — Saw-mills — American speculators— Projected
suspension bridge — Population of St. John Characteristics ■
N ewspapers — Literary productions.

The City of St. John exhibits more of the American
rapidity of growth, than any of the settlements of
the British provinces. Fifty years ago, the spot on
which it stands was a wilderness, without a single
habitation, save the wigwam of the native Indian.
Now it is an incorporated City, containing a population
of at least 30,000 souls, with a number of large ships
belonging to the port, and merchants of considerable
opulence^ most of whom commenced with no other
capital than industry and credit, and many of them
began business but a few years since.

Previous to the year 1763, the whole of the terri-
tory now called New Brunswick, was considered by
the French to be comprehended within the domain
of New France ; and, with what is now called Nova
Scotia, was by them named Acadia. They had then
a fort at the mouth of the St. John River, and some

400

NEW BKUNSWICK.

fur-trading ports in the interior. At the cession of
the Canadas, by the peace wdth France of I76S, this
territory was still claimed by the French, as Acadia,
and counterclaimed by the British, as part of Nova
Scotia. About this period a little colony from New
England settled at a place called Maugerville, about
fifty miles above the mouth of the St. John, where
they continued to increase till the peace with the
United States in I78S, when they numbered nearlj"^
a thousand souls ; but still there was only a small
fur-trading post of the English at the entrance to
the river itself.

The cessation of the war with the United States
occasioning a great number of sailors and soldiers to
be discharged from the public service, in this quarter,
large bodies of each were sent here, and settled at
Fredericton, higher up the river, about ninety miles
from its mouth. It was not until I786, however,
that any town was begun at the entrance of the river;
but from that period to this, the city of St. John,
and the suburbs of Carleton and Portland, have
been gradually attaining to their present size and
number of inhabitants.

The situation of St. John is on a rocky promontory
and hill on the left of the river, as you look out
toward the sea, and on the right of the harbour as
jou enter. It is so steep in many places, that not-
withstanding the cutting down of the rock to ease
the ascent, it is still a toilsome labour to perambulate
It for any length of time. The plan of the town,
however, is regular, and the streets are laid out at
ng t angles ; the breadth of the principal one. King
reet, being lOO feet, and few of the others less

ST. JOHN.

401

than 50 or 60. There is a large open square on
the top of the hill, around which are terraces of
houses, and no part of the City seems to want space
for ventilation.

On the opposite bank of the river, at its entrance,
is the little town of Carleton ; and on the same side
as St. John, are the suburbs of Portland and Indian-
Town, the houses of these being almost continuous.
Between Carleton and St. John is the inner harbour,
and farther out is the anchoring ground for ships
ready for sea. The rise and fall of tide here being
from 18 to 24 feet, much of the ground is left dry at
low water, and it is only at high water that ships of
large size can enter or depart. At the entrance of
the harbour is a small island, called Partridge Island,
on which there is a signal-post, a lighthouse, and
a large bell which is rung to warn ships entering
in time of fog. The harbour being comparatively
open to the sea, is not rendered inaccessible by ice at
any time of the year, so that its commerce is unin-
terrupted.

The river St. John cannot be entered by ships at
all, nor even by boats, except at the top of high
water ; as, just at its mouth, there is such a sudden
declivity in its bed, that the stream rushes with
immense rapidity over it ; there are therefore strong
rapids rather than falls, rushing outward with the
ebb, and inward with the flood, and the entrance
is smooth only at the top of high water. To voyage
on the river, therefore, it is necessary to go about a
mile from the town above these rapids by land, and
there embark in the steamer or other boats to ascend
the stream.

2 D

402

NEW BRUNSWICK.

The public buildings of St. John include an ex-
cellent Court House, facing King Square on the
hill, which has a fine architectural front, and an
admirably disposed interior, with a Council Cham-
ber, and other necessary offices. At the foot of
King Street, is a new Market-house, just finished,
with lofty and spacious Halls above, for public meet-
ings. A new Custom House is constructing, with
a front of 200 feet, intended, it is said by some, to
resemble the fagade of the late Carlton House in
London, though others give it a front of less pre-
tensions. There are two new Banks also in the
street nearest the harbour, which present fine speci-
mens of architectural taste, and are among the prin-
cipal ornaments of the City.

Of Churches there are fourteen, including two
Episcopalian in St. John, and two others in Port-
land and Carleton ; three Presbyterian, three
Methodist, two Roman Catholic, one Baptist, and
one Independent. As buildings, the Roman Catho-
lic and the Episcopalian are the largest and best j
of congregations, th^ Methodist and the Roman
Catholic are the most numerous, and the Episcopa-
lians the most wealthy ; but all the churches are well
attended, and the different denominations of Chris-
tians are said to agree remarkably well with each
other.

There are two good hotels, and several smaller
ones ; the principal of these is the St. John Hotel,
at which we lived during our stay here, and nothing
could exceed the civility and attention of the pro°
prietors, so that we found ourselves most agreeably
situated in this respect. There is a public Theatre,

ST. JOHN.

403

small in size, and but poorly sustained ; for here, as
elsewhere, theatrical entertainments are on the de-
cline. A fine large Mechanics’ Institute is building,
but not yet completed, and the Society for which it
is erecting, receives the cordial support of the prin-
cipal inhabitants of the town.

Nearly all the new buildings are constructed of
brick or stone, instead of wood, and the handsomest
of the public edifices are built of a fine grey granite,
found in abundance on the banks of the river St.
John.

At the extremity of the promontory on which the
City stands, extensive ranges of barracks have been
recently erected for the military here, and these form
a very prominent object in the picture, as you enter
the harbour from the sea.

There are two Public Schools, one called the
Grammar School, for the higher branches of educa-
tion ; and the other, called the Madras Central
School, where the Lancasterian mode of teaching is
adopted, for the instruction of children in the ele-
ments of knowledge only. Each of the congrega-
tions has also a Sunday School attached to it, for
the gratuitous teaching of the children of the poor.

Among the associations, there are several for the
promotion of literature, humanity, and religion;
including a Literary Society, a Bible, a Missionary,
and a Tract Society, an Orphan and a Female
Benevolent Association, a Temperance Society, and
several Patriotic and Mutual Relief Associations,
under the names of St. George’s, St. Patrick s, St.
Andrew's, the Albion, the Sons of Erin, and the
British American Societies ; a Vaccine Establish-

2 d2

404

NEW BRUNSAVICK.

ment, a Marine Hospital, and a Board for the assist-
ance of Emigrants.

The municipal government of the City consists of
a mayor, recorder, and six aldermen, with an equal
number of assistant aldermen, under the title of the
Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City of
St. John. The mayor is a member of the Legisla-
tive Council of the Province, and repairs to the seat
of government at Fredericton when the Legislature
is in session. He is nominated to his office by the
Governor, but the aldermen and their assistants are
elected annually by the six wards into which the City
and Suburbs are divided, and of which, therefore,
they are the representatives. There are besides
these, a Sheriff, a Coroner, a Common Clerk, a
Chamberlain, a High Constable, six inferior Con-
stables, and two Marshals. All these are paid out
of the City revenues, which do not at present exceed
5,000/. a year, so that there is, as yet at least, no
large surplus fund for public improvements ; but as
the City possesses property which must greatly in-
crease in value with the augmentation of population
and commerce, its revenue will, no doubt, before
long, be such as to enable it to accomplish many
important public objects.

This City, like most others in America, has suf-
fered, at different times, severely by fires. One of
these, which occurred in 1837, destroyed about 120
houses and stores, in the business-part of the City,
and occasioned a loss of 250,000/. A yet more
recent fire, in the last year, 1839, occurring in
another part of the City, destroyed property to even
a still greater amount. The burnt districts, however.

ST. JOHN.

405

are fast losing all traces of this calamity, by the
erection of new and more substantial edifices, in the
place of those destroyed ; but the loss to the inha-
bitants, by these two quickly succeeding conflagra-
tions, has been such as it will take them some time
to recover.

The principal business of St. John is shipbuilding,
which is carried on to a great extent The timber
used for the purpose is chiefly pine or fir, with the
occasional use of hackmatack and cedar, all of which
are abundantly and cheaply procured from the forests
of the surrounding country ; but the size of the trees
is not sutficient to admit of the building of ships of
large scantling. The average burden of vessels con-
structed here ranges between 300 and 500 tons ;
though within the last year, two fine ships, of 1,000
tons burden each, have been launched, and are now
fitting for sea. In the year 1836, there were built
here 81 ships, measuring about 25,000 tons, being
more than one-fifth of the number of vessels and
tonnage built in the whole of the United States
during the same year. There were then belonging
to the port of St. John 410 vessels, measuring 69,766
tons, navigated by 2,879 men ; while the total num-
ber of vessels entered at this port and its outbays,
in 1886, amounted to 2,549 vessels, measuring
289,127 tons, and navigated by 13,685 men. The
ships built here, do not cost more than 8/. per ton,
including masts and rigging ; while at Quebec, the
rate varies from 10/. to 12/., and in London from
15/. to 20/. In appearance, the New Brunswick
ships arc of fine models, and all the workmanship
on them appears to be well executed ; they maintain

40G

NEW BRUNSWICK.

their rank as first-class vessels, from five to seven
years, and with occasional repairs will last from
twelve to fifteen years. Taking, therefore, cheap-
ness, strength, and durability combined, they appear
to be peculiarly eligible for general trading purposes ;
and in the competition which the English mercantile
marine must necessarily encounter from other nations,
it is likely that the cheaper vessels of New Bruns-
wick will be in increasing demand.

The commerce of St. John embraces transactions
with Europe, Africa, and America ; and as its har-
bour is never closed by ice, there is no interruption
to its trade throughout the year. The export of
timber, in the various forms of squared logs, sawed
plank, and lumber, forms the chief article ; and next
to this, the fisheries yield their supply. In this
must be included the produce of the Southern Whale
Fishery, in which several of the larger ships of
St. John are engaged. In the last three years, an
average of about 150,000 gallons of sperm and whale
oil have been exported ; while the home-fisheries of
the Bay of Fundy furnish cod, hake, pollock, haddock,
in laige quantities, and seals are also taken on the
shores and islands, for their skins and oil. The im-
ports embrace all the varied articles required for the
consumption of the Province, or for re-exportation
where no other articles can be obtained in exchange
for the cargoes sent out. The amount of imports
for the year 1337, was 1,185,000^.; and of exports,
555,709^- sterling. The rapid progress of the
Colony may be judged of, by the fact, that in 1780,
the largest vessel built at St. John, was only 100
tons ; the trade from hence to Bermuda and the

ST. JOHN.

■107

West Indies being carried on in vessels of from 30 to
50 tons burden.

A singular custom prevails here, with respect to
the privilege of fishing in certain localities. The
coast within the jurisdiction of the City is parcelled
out into lots, of varying degrees of eligibility, com-
mencing with No. 1, and declining in value to No.
100 and upwards. A sort of lottery is formed of
these numbers every year, and in the month of
January, the freemen and widows of freemen of the
City are entitled to draw in this lottery for the fishing
berths thus numbered. The person who draws No.
1, makes his first cjjoice, and so on in succession ;
and as the numbers are often drawn by persons not
actually engaged in the fisheries, the privilege is
sold to fishermen, at various prices, from 50/., the
usual value of the first choice, downward to I/., the
value of the last, within 100 ; but above this number
the lots have no saleable value.

Of the suburbs of St. John, Portland appears to
be the largest. This is indeed contiguous to St.
John itself, and is the principal quarter of the timber-
sawing and ship-building operations. We visited
one of the steam saw-mills here, and were surprised
at the rapidity with which large square logs were
reduced into planks, and these again planed and
trimmed, all by machinery, rendering very little
human labour necessary. Some of the largest
fortunes made in St. John have been acquired by
these saw-mills, and several persons were named to
us, who had come to the Colony but a few years
since, without capital, but who, by credit, industry,
and continually extending operations, had acquiied

408

NEW BRUNSWICK.

sufficient to retire in opulence from business. Some
idea may be formed of the cheapness of timber here,
when it is stated that the gentleman who accompa-
nied us in our visit, one of the oldest inhabitants of
St. John, assured us he had provided from this saw-
mill, a complete supply' of all the necessary timber
for a frame-house, in upright beams, rafters, floorint^
planks, door and window frames, and every other
kind required, for about 6/. sterling !

Several of the owners of these saw-mills are natives
of the United States ; and they are observed, here as
elsewhere, to be generally more enterprising, and
more speculative, than the nati^ Colonists or the
British; sometimes to their own enrichment, but
sometimes also, it must be admitted, to the impover-
ishment of others. A memorable example of the
last description occurred but a short time since, of
which the monument still remains. A speculator
from the New England States, having visited St.
John, conceived the project of constructing a large
wooden suspension-bridge to cross over from Port-
land to Carleton, at the entrance to the river, and
readily prevailed on the inhabitants to form a
Company of Shareholders to subscribe the requisite
capital for the purpose, while he undertook the con-
tract for its construction. The bridge was intended
to be 1,400 feet in extreme length, with a single
span, resting on towers, distant from each other
435 feet, and the height of the bridge above the
water was to be 80 feet. The capital subscribed
was 30,000/., and the work proceeded with great
lapi ity ; but when the structure was sufficiently
acvanced to admit of foot-passengers crossing it.

ST. JOHN.

409

though before the suspension-chains were securely
fastened, the whole of the centre fell in with a ter-
rible crash, while some of the workmen were employed
on it ; and it has been since ascertained, that the
whole pile is so loosely and insecurely put together,
as not to be worth completing.

It is from the suburb of Portland that the best
view of the City and Harbour of St. John is obtained.*
On the extreme right of the picture, is just seen a
small portion of Partridge Island, on which the tele-
graph signals are made, to announce the approach
of ships in the offing. Between it and the low point
of the town is a passage for ships ; and beyond this,
in the distance, appears the high land of the Bay of
St. John, along the coast of which we had come in the
steamer from Windsor. The City, rising street after
street, slopes upward from the water on all sides,
and the principal churches and public buildings are
on the most elevated ground. At the foot of the
town, near the middle of the picture, is the inner
harbour, where the greatest number of ships he at
anchor and at the wharves. On the left is the
suburb of Portland, with several ships in frame on
the stocks, and a raft of timber approaching its wharf.
An Episcopal church, a Dissenting chapel, and a
Catholic place of worship, already adorn this suburb,
and the high mass of rock near its centre, furnishes
quarries of excellent stone for building.

The population of St. John and its suburbs exceeds
30 000, and of these by far the greater number are
of British birth and origin. There are no remnants
of the old French Acadians, like the hahtans of
Quebec, nor any negroes or coloured people as at

* See the accompanying Engraving.

410

NEW BRUNSWICK.

Halifax j though there are a very few Indians still
lingering about the streets, but these are so poor and
feeble, that in a very few years it is probable they
will all be extinct. The Irish appear to be most
numerous, the Scotch next, and the English least of
all. The number of Irish names on the signboards
of the groceries and whisky-shops, show that Irish
habits have been imported also ; and the number of
women with coarse woollen cloaks, and large frilled
caps without bonnets, that one meets in the city and
suburbs, with the strong Irish accent in which they
converse, show that they are of very recent immigra-
tion.

Among the classes of society that account them-
selves of the higher orders, there is much less of
elegance and refinement than at Toronto, Montreal,
Quebec, or Halifax ; though the town of St. John is
better built than the latter, and the houses and stores
are very superior. There is an American air of equal-
ity in the conditions and manners of all classes here,
with the eager bustle and earnest pursuit of business,
which is so characteristic of American towns. Some-
thing of the boasting spirit of the New Englanders
is also manifest in the conversations one hears, and
in the comparisons made between the enterprise and
prosperity of St. John and other places. This exhi-
bits itself in the public papers occasionally, by such
paragraphs as the following, which is taken from a
St. John journal during our stay there.

“ Beat this who can !— The following vessels, all owned by
the Hon. Alexander Campbell, have been launched at Tatama-
gouche during the last three weeks : — Barque Acadia, built by
Mr. James Chambers, burthen about 360 tons : Ship Frances
Lawson, built by Mr. John Ilewet, burthen about 500 tons :

ST. JOHN.

411

Barque Columbia, built by Mr. John Wallace, burthen about
360 tons; Brig Caledonia, built by Mr. John Pride, burthen
about 230 tons.”

There are six newspapers at St. John, published
weekly, and two thrice a week ; all political, except
one, which is devoted to the promotion of Temperance
and Religion. They are superior to the average of
the American papers, in the talent with which they
are conducted, and free from that fierce acrimony of
party-spirit, by which the journals of the United
States are too often characterized. The disaffection
of the Canadians finds no sympathy in their columns ;
as whatever differences of opinion prevail among
them on local affairs, and even these are very slight,
an ardent attachment to England, and a strong desire
to maintain the connection with her unimpaired, is
constantly manifested in all their writings.

An extensive literary taste can hardly he expected
to prevail in so young and busy a community, where
there are scarcely any persons of independent fortune
or leisure, and no public institution of a collegiate
or literary character; yet several works of merit
have been published at St. John— one entitled “ No-
titise of New Brunswick,” in 8vo., by an inhabitant ;
with a poem of considerable talent, entitled “ Mars
Hill,” from the pen of Mr. Lasky ; and an historical
novel, far above the average standard of such pro-
ductions, from the same pen. My Lectures were
attended for six successive evenings, by audiences of
500 persons, though the weather was sometimes most
inclement ; and the interest felt in them, appeared
to be quite as great as at Halifax, Quebec, Montrea ,
or Toronto.

CHAP. XXVII.

Departure for Fredericton— Indian-Town— Mouth of the River
St. John— Great chasm in the rocks— Rapids and Cataract —
Beautiful scenery of the river — Expanding Lake or Bay —
Auxiliary streams of the Kennebecacis and Oromocto — Settle-
ments along the banks — Arrival at Fredericton — Description
of the town — Its plan, public buildings, and population.

On the morning of Thursday the 22nd of October,
we left the City of St. John at seven o’clock, during
a most violent tempest of wind and rain ; and
driving through the suburb of Portland to Indian-
T. own, above the rapid, at the entrance to the river,
we there embarked in a steamer for Fredericton.
This spot was called Indian-Town, because it was at
first wholly occupied by Indians, and the first house
built here for them was erected by the father of the
present Sheriflf of St. John. The first party that
came here to form the settlement had whisky given
them by the whites, and nearly all of them became
intoxicated, one of them stabbing his companion, so
that drunkenness and murder were the accompani-
ments of their first assembly I

We embarked in the steamer New Brunswick, a
fine boat, at half-past seven. The tempest of wind
and rain rendered it difficult to remain on deck ; but
the shores of the river were sufficiently attractive to

RIVER ST. JOHN.

4.13

keep us there. The entrance to this river from the
sea, can only he made at the top of high water.
The obstruction is occasioned by a mass or ledge of
rock remaining in the channel between the lofty
cliffs on either side, over which ledge, soon after
high water, the stream presents a rapid, gradually
increasing to a cataract or fall, outwards into the
harbour ; and when the flood-tide begins to set, the
rapid or fall runs inward from the harbour to the
river with the same velocity, till near the top of
high water, when the general level between the har-
bour and the river is restored ; and at slack water, as
the pilots term it, boats can pass inward and out-
ward with safety, but only for a short period, about
a quarter of an hour, at each full tide. "1 he rup-
ture made by the river through the mass of rock
that impeded its passage to the sea, has left a great
chasm, which is Very striking, the cliffs on each side
being lofty and perpendicular, and the breadth of
the stream between them not more than a quarter of
a mile across.

As we advanced up the river St. John, the stream
appeared broader, and the scenery was very interest-
ing, and in some parts beautiful. On the right
hand of our course we passed a promontory called
the Boar’s Head, from some fancied resemblance
which suggested the name ; and near this, saw the
entrance of the river Kennebecacis, flowing from
the north-east. Here the river St. John expands
its width to four or five miles, this width continuing
for five or six miles in length, so as to form a sort of
lake or bay. The hills on each side are undulated
and wooded ; and great ne?itncss and care seemed to

NEW BRUNSWICK.

4H.

be manifested on the farms we saw enclosed. There
were many small islands in the centre of the stream,
which were well wooded also, and on some of these,
neat white cottages were seen. On either bank there
were occasional villages, with the spire of a small
church piercing above the trees, and everything con-
nected with rural life seemed more carefully neat
and orderly, than we had been accustomed to see in
the United States ; though it must be admitted that
in the build, equipment, and appearance of their
boats and river-craft, the New Brunswickers seemed
to us much behind the Americans. Along the banks
we observed several long level tracts of land, nearly
even with the water s edge. 1 hese are always over-
flowed in the great freshets of spring, when the melt-
ing of the ice and snows swell the river above its
hounds. But they produce rich harvests of hay ; and
we saw on one of those low slips of land not less
than a hundred haystacks well and compactly made.
This was about thirty miles above the mouth of the
St. John.

The prettily undulated and wooded hills on each
side the river, looked the more beautiful from their
being clothed in their autumnal dress, with tints as
vivid as any seen in the American forests. On
some of the low marshes we observed herds of cattle
grazing, and protected from the overflow of the
stream by dykes. The cultivation improved as we
advanced, and we saw many of the haystacks fenced
around to protect them from the cattle, and roofed
over to defend them from rain.

About forty miles above St. John we passed Long
Island, with a church and tavern adjoining it, both

KIVER ST. JOIIK.

415

close to the river, for the accommodation of farmers,
who come to it from many miles round. Ten miles
above this, we passed the small neat village of Gage-
town on our left. Beyond this, the banks of the
river become flatter and less picturesque, but the
country is more fertile and productive. Maugerville
on the left, and Sheffield on the right, are two small
villages about sixty miles above St. John, and these
are said to be the two oldest settlements on the
river.

Fourteen miles above this, we passed the town of
Oromocto on the left, where the river of that name
enters from the west. This river is navigable for
25 miles above its junction with the St. John ; and
at its mouth there is a new wooden bridge, with a
central opening to admit the passage of ships and
vessels. We saw many large vessels on the stocks
here, building for the trade of New Brunswick,
foreign as well as coasting.

We had a young Colonist on board, a native
of Woodstock, one of the frontier towns of this Pro-
vince, who exhibited a specimen of the strong Colo-
nial feeling which is unhappily too general among
persons from whose age and experience one might
have expected better things. The unpopularity of
Mr. Poulett Thompson, as Governor-General of
Canada, was very great, at his first appointment,
throughout all the North American Provinces ; and
in more than one place he had been burnt in effigy*
This conduct the young Colonist applauded, adding
only one regret, which he had no scruple to express
openly in the presence of all the passengers, which
was, that the people had not burnt Mr. Thompson

NEW BRUNSWICK.

41 f)

himself, instead of his mere representative or effigy.
I asked him what could justify such a step? He
said, “ Because he was known to have spoken and
voted in the House of Commons for a reduction of
the duty on Baltic timber, and this was oppression
to the Colonies.” Such are the feelings that are
engendered by being brought up under the restrictive
or protecting system.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, we reached Fre-
dericton, which had a pleasing appearance from the
river, having performed the distance of eighty-five
miles from St. John in eight hours and half, and for
the very moderate fare of ten shillings each, exclusive
of meals.

We were met by several gentlemen at the wharf,
and escorted to Jackson’s Hotel, where we found
comfortable accommodations. We were afterwards
introduced to the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John
Harvey, and his family and staff, as well as the
Bishop of Nova Scotia, who was then on a tour
through the Province ; and we had the pleasure of
dining with a most agreeable party at the Govern-
ment House. Nothing could exceed the urbanity
and hospitality of all the leading members of society,
who did their utmost to make our short stay in the
capital agreeable.

Our examination of Fredericton, which was made
in company with some of the residents, who answered
all our inquiries without reserve, gave iis a favour-
able impression of the place and its inhabitants, and
made us feel a well-grounded hope of its future pros-
perity. The town is seated on a plain, on the right
bank of the river St. John, with hills rising behind

'f-

\ A

’ ■

W. R..Uai-iieU„

FREDERICTON.

417

it to the south-west. The plain is about four miles
long and one mile broad. The river curves round
this plain in a convex shape, so as to give increased
water-frontage to the town. This is laid out with
great symmetry, in squares of eighteen different lots,
each lot containing a quarter of an acre. The streets
lie parallel to each other in one direction, and are
crossed by others at right angles. The longest are
those running nearly parallel to the river, these
exceed a mile in length. The transverse streets are
shorter. Near the landing-place is a fine open
square, with grass lawn, and a row of very large wil-
lows and poplar trees. On one side of this square is
the officers’ barracks.

As the town recedes from the river, the level is
more elevated, and some of the principal buildings
are seen on the rising ground. The most conspi-
cuous of these is King’s College, which is deemed
the finest building in the Province. It is I 7 I feet
long, and 159 feet deep, and embraces a basement
and two lofty stories, with a fine massive cornice
and pediments. The edifice is constructed with a
fine grey stone found near the site, and affords a very
favourable specimen of architecture. In the building
there is a chapel, two lecture-rooms, twenty-one
rooms for students, and ample accommodation for
the President, Vice-President, and servants. The
position is commanding, healthy, and agreeable, and
the course of tuition proposed is useful and orna-
mental. There is a Baptist Seminary in a lower
part of the town, a handsome little building 60 feet
by 35; a Grammar and Madras School, with
several private academies, and a number of Sunday

2 E

118

KF.W BRUNSWICK.

schools, SO that education appears to he amply pro-
vided for.

There are five Churches, the Episcopal, Scotch,
Methodist, Baptist, and Roman Catholic, and all are
said to have full congregations ; and there are several
excellent Benevolent Institutions.

The Province Hall, in which the Legislature of
New Brunswick holds its sittings, is nearly in the
centre of the town. Attached to it are several public
offices, but the whole structure is not remarkable
for any architectural beauty.

The Governor’s residence is in the northern
quarter of the town, and is at once elegant and com-
modious, with a good lawn and gardens, and pleasant
walks along the banks of the river.

Fredericton was first founded as the capital of
New Brunswick, by Governor Carleton in 1784,
when this province was first separated from Nova
Scotia, and the position is well chosen. From it,
as from a common centre, the public roads branch
off to different quarters; and its central position
between Halifax and Quebec, makes it an important
military depot.

The country around it is pleasing, and the river
St. John extends for 400 miles above Fredericton, its
banks exhibiting frequent settlements of cleared
lands, farms, and pretty cottage dwellings ; and for
all this tract of country, Fredericton is almost certain
to become the great central mart of trade. The
present population is about 5,000, hut these are every
year rapidly increasing.

The last lectures that I delivered on the Ame-
rican continent were given at Fredericton, in a

FREDERICTON.

419

new and handsome chapel of the Wesleyan Metho-
dists ; and they were crowded with large numbers.
Here, however, as at Toronto, there was an
appendage which might well have been spared,
though the etiquette of Colonial rule seemed to
require it. In the pews reserved for the Lieute-
nant-Governor and his staff, were orderly sergeants,
keeping possession previous to his arrival, while
military sentries with fixed bayonets were placed at
each entrance of the chapel ; and the concourse of
the large retinue of officers, from the Government
House and the Barracks, made the aisles ring with
the clatter of heavy boots, steel scabbards, and the
tramp of numbers, not quite in harmony with the
grave decorum of a chapel or a lecture-room. But
the entry once over, all afterwards was perfectly
orderly and subdued.

^2 E ^

CHAP. XXVIII.

General view of the Province of New Brunswick-Historv of h.
Boundary line— Extensive* forests— Variet^^ oHree^**' M~

Great fire on the river Miramachi. Commerce—

Before quitting Fredericton, it will be well to nre
sent a general view of the Province of New Bruns.
Wtck, of which ,t IS the capital , as its importance is

rf^rmav r'l® '■''“‘“j* "’O'’® favourable estimate

of It maj bo formed, when the details of its statistics
are more acouratelj understood.

The territory now occupied by this Province
was onpnally included in that of Nova Scotia • its

S wh°’’'-r ““vporated with that until

a net "a ■** ‘“'I established as

anew Colony under its present name.

and th!'fi‘/rr”° Lieutenant.Colonel Carletoni

the S^'emnent was the founding

fte settlement of Fredericton, where it now stands

sovemmem," seat of

L u3lv e d h' T? ‘’>® Americans

for the States, namely, centrality of position ;

AREA, BAYS, AND RIVERS. 421

as Fredericton is nearly equidistant from the towns of
St. John, Miramichi, Bay Verte, St. Andrews, and
Passamaquoddy. On the upper part of the river
St. John, two military stations were fixed ; one at
Presque Isle, about 100 miles above Frederieton,
and another at the Grand Falls, 80 miles further
up. The French settlers who were then in this
province, joined by others from Lower Canada, of the
same race and religion, formed a small settlement
still higher up, about midway between Fredericton
and Quebec, which they called Madawaska, where
they still remain.

The area of New Brunswick is included within
the parallels of latitude 45° and 48° north, having
the Bay of Fundy on its southern border, and Lower
Canada on its northern ; and between the meridians
of 64° and 68° of longitude, having the Gulf of St.
Lawrence on its eastern border, and the American
State of Maine on its western. Its length from north
to south is about 180 miles, and its mean breadth
about 150, so that it contains 27,000 square miles,
or 17,280,000 acres ; being thus nearly as large as
Ireland, which contains 20,000,000 of acres.

There are some fine bays, as those of Chaleurs on
the north, Miramichi on the eastern coast, and St.
Andrew’s and St. John’s on the southern coast ; as
well as Chignecto Bay on the south-east, running up
from the great Bay of Fundy to the isthmus which
connects Nova Scotia with New Brunswick.

Of rivers, the Miramichi, on the eastern coast, is
the most easily accessible for shipping, and most navi-
gable for some distance from the sea. Several large
Learns pour their waters into it from the north and the

422

NEW BRUNSWICK.

south, and there are many small islands in its course ;
while the rising towns of Newcastle and Chatham
near its mouth, bid fair to become great seaports.
Already, in a single year, more than 200 ships, and
100 schooners and small craft, have been laden from
the Miramichi, with the produce of the interior.

The Restigouche is another fine stream farther
north, 220 miles long, three miles broad at its

entrance, and one mile broad 100 miles up, and
emptying itself into the Bay of Chaleurs at its head ;
while the Miramichi pours its waters into the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. The scenery of its banks is bold
and romantic, with cliffs, glens, and slopes ; it rises
near the sources of Grand River, which goes into
the St. John, near the Great Falls, and its general
course is north-east, like that of the Miramichi.
From the heads of both these streams, the distance
to the St. John is very little; and “portages,” as
they are called by the French, make the communica-
tion between them very easy. In the Bay of Cha-
Rurs, the towns of Bathurst about its centre, and
Dalhousie near its head, are both largely engaged
in the export of timber from the interior.

The river St. Croix, or the Schoodie, which is the
westernmost of the rivers of New Brunswick, rises
m a chain of small lakes, not more than 60 miles
irom the sea, and empties into the Bay of St.
Andrews. This was the original boundary, west-
ward between the British Provinces and the United
States, as fixed by the treaty of 1783; the words of
the tre^y, when defining the border of the United

te drawn

along the middle of the St. Croix, from its mouth in

THE BOUNDARY UNE.

423

the Bay of Fundy to its source, and from its source
directly north to the aforesaid Highlands, (before
described in the treaty) which divide the rivers that
fall into the Atlantic Ocean, from those which fall
into the river St. Lawrence.” The truth is, that
both parties to this treaty were ignorant of the true
nature and topography of the region in question ;
and hence all the subsequent difficulties that have
arisen in its adjustment.*

• Since this was written, the treaty negotiated by Lord Ash-
burton has settled the Boundary Line, on a ditFerent basis from
tliat of the original treaty of 1783, and from that awarded by
the King of the Netherlands in 1814. And since this treaty was
signed, the publication of the pamphlet of Mr. Featherstonehaugh,
has disclosed the fact that Mr. Sparks, the American historian,
found, in the Geographical Department of the Archives of
France, a Map of the original Boundary Line agreed to, with the
red line drawn by the American minister, Benjamin Franklin,
confirming the justice of the British claim. The concealment
of that important fact, by the American Senate, and Secretary
of State, reflects a disgrace on all the parties privy to this
concealment, which no explanation can wipe away. Never-
theless, it is of great national importance to the peace of the two
countries, that this long-debated question is at length settled.
l,ord Ashburton may have been overreached by the dishonest and
unscrupulous negotiators of Washington, as the ablest man living
might have been ; but no honest man can deny to that nobleman
the praise of having fulfilled the duty assigned to him, in a man-
rier that reflects the greatest credit on his charac er.
Americans may well be ashamed of the share which their becre-
,ary of State Ind Senate had in the traiisacaon ; but
man need blush for Lord Ashburton’s being ignorant of that
which the wisest man living could not be expecte to now w
such concealment was practised by his adversaries. After all,
however, the advantages to Great Britain in having this question
settled, are far greater than any sacrifice of mere tern ory, o

• 1 . 24 .

NKW BRUNSWICK.

The river St. John is the longest and most pic-
turesquely beautiful of all the New Brunswick rivers.
Its Indian name Loosh-took, means literally Lono-
River. It rises near the Chaudiere river in Lower
Canada, not far from Quebec, and flows through a
course of nearly 600 miles (the length of England
and Scotland united), till it empties itself into the
sea in the Bay of Fundy. The Grand Falls on thl

height of the cataract is 50 feet. The river winds
through part of the United States’ territorv by a
circuitous bend, then enters New Brunswick Ld

St 7ohn ^Fredericton, on to the port of

The interior of the Territory of New Brunswick

fores ^ untrodden

forest. It IS known that there are several ridges of

ills, and some of an elevation of 2,000 feet this

eing the altitude of the celebrated Mars* Hill on

a line with the St. Croix river, and admitted by’the

Americans and the English as one of the fixed points

Sai;Line adjustment of the

w~r:=r;''rr?;i2£-'s;

itns." X7S r rr;

u JX“iTorr::.rr

FORESTS AND QUARRIES.

4>‘25

principal of these are the red or Norway pine, and
the white pine, each of which grows to a large size,
seventeen tons of timber being frequently obtained
from one tree. The black, yellow, and white birch
for building, as well as the curly birch for furniture,
also abound. The spruce, the hemlock, the hack-
matack, tamarack, or larch, are frequently in all
parts of the country ; and the rock, the bird’s-eye,
and the sugar-maple, are all well known. Besides
these, there are the oak, the elm, the beech, the
hornbeam, the ash, the poplar, and the locust, so
that variety as well as abundance are thus secured
in the supply of forest-trees. These are cut down,
in their different localities, by bodies of men called
lumberers, who go out in companies during the win-
ter, under a leader, and share in the profits of the
enterprise. They prepare the trees after they are
cut down, by lopping off the branches, stripping the
bark, rough-squaring the trunks: and then, launching
them into the streams as the ice breaks up in spring,
they form them into rafts on the large rivers, and
thus float them by the current to the ports on the
borders of the sea.

In the course of their explorations in the interior,
these men have ascertained that the province contains
an abundance of excellent stone for building, espe-
cially granite and sandstone. Quarries of the stone
used for grinding-mills are opened at the head of the
Bay of Fundy, and form an article of extensive
import. Good marble has been found in some parts,
and limestone and gypsum are abundant. At Grand
Lake, on the left bank of the St. John, between Fre-
dericton and the sea, coals have been found, and the

426

NEW BRUNSWICK.

surface strata worked ; and it is said, by those who
have made inspection of this locality, that the supplies
are likely to be as large as those of Nova Scotia.
Salt springs are frequent within 50 miles of the sea,
from which brine and salt may be procured ; and at
Mispeck, iron ore has been found, which yields 70
per cent of pure iron.

In its forests and mineral wealth, therefore, New
Brunswick has an immense store of treasure for future
developement ; while for agriculture, pasturage, and
fishing, she is not inferior to the sister province Nova
Scotia ; and in the furs of its wild animals, the food
of Its domestic cattle, and the wealth of its fisheries,
it finds steady sources of increasing wealth.

We have seen that the whole area of New Bruns-
wick contains upwards of 17,000,000 of acres. If
from this 2,000,000 be deducted for lakes, rivers,
and rocky surface, and the deduction is more than
enough, there would remain 14,000,000 of acres,
fitted for tillage and pasture, when the forests are
cleared ; or allowing 2,000,000 of acres more for
these, as their entire removal is neither practicable
nor desirable, there would be 12,000,000 of acres of
available soil. Of this, not more than 4,000,000
have been alienated or sold : — of which 3,000,000
have been granted by the Crown under patents from
the Governments of Nova Scotia and New Bruns-
wick ; 500,000 sold to the New Brunswick Land
Company ; and 500,000 in sales to individuals.

riie climate and soil of all this territory are quite
equal to those of Canada, and excellent crops of
wheat, barley, oats, and maize may be everywhere
raised, while potatoes and all the esculent vegetables

PIUCES OF LAND.

4*^7

and garden-fruits of England may be reared and
ripened in New Brunswick as well as in any parts of
England, Scotland, or Ireland. Pasturage for cattle,
along all the river-borders, and in the valleys of the
interior, may also be commended ; and here, as in
the other Provinces, nothing is wanting, but popula-
tion and capital, to make the Colony rich, prosperous,
and powerful.

The prices of land vary, of course, according to
quality and locality. They may he said to range
from five shillings to five pounds per acre — the latter
only where some clearing or improvement has been
effected ; and then in the neighbourhood of towns
it will run up to twenty pounds or more. But for
farming purposes, either in the tract purchased by
the New Brunswick Land Company, which is a little
to the north of Fredericton, stretching onward from
the river St. John, or other parts under sale from
the Government, from 5s. to 10s. per acre, for
uncleared land may be named as the average price.
By a late regulation of the Home Government, pur-
chasers are now obliged to pay ten per cent, on the
value of the purchase at the time of making it ; and
the remainder within fourteen days from the time of
the sale, and possession is not given to the purchaser
to enter on his land until the whole payment is com-

pleted. .

It is remark able that in the case of persons dying
without making a will, their property in land is
divided by the custom of gavelkind, as it prevails in
Kent. The eldest son has two shares of the pro-
perty, and all the rest of the children have one ; and

428

NEW BRUNSWICK.

if a widow be left, her right of dower takes prece-
dence of these.

The whole population of New Brunswick is not
more than 150,000 by the last returns. By this time
there are probably 200,000, a number not so great
as the inhabitants of Liverpool or Manchester in
England, with a territory nearly equal to that of all
Ireland for their support. Of these, a large number
are of Irish immigration and descent, and these are
Roman Catholics. Among the rest are, Englishmen
of the Episcopal Church, Scotchmen of the Presby-
terian Church, and both of the Methodist and Bap-
tist persuasion. As there are places of worship
for all, and no one enjoys supremacy, they agree
remarkably well, and religious dissensions are very
rare.

The Government of the Province is in a Lieute-
nant-Governor, a Council of 16 members appointed
by the Crown from the Upper House, and a repre-
sentative body of 32 elected by the eleven counties
into which the Province is divided, and two from the
City of St. John. It meets at Fredericton in the
winter, and generally sits for two months. Its pro-
ceedings are regulated by the model of the English
1 arliament, though its proceedings are generally
very smooth and tranquil.

Abundant provision is made for the administration
of justice, in Courts of Chancery and Common Law.

1 he Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief
IS Chancellor, but he is assisted or advised by the
Judges of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice
has a salary of 950/. ; and three Puisne Judges, of

REVENUE AND SHIPPING.

4-29

650/. a year. Circuit Courts are held in each county
in turn ; and County and Parish business is trans-
acted much as it is at home. The materials for
litigation are not yet very abundant ; and all parties
seem satisfied with the equity with which justice is
administered.

The Lieutenant-Governor has a salary of 3,500/.
a year ; the Commissioner of Crown Lands, 1,750/.;
the Provincial Secretary, 1,430/. ; and the other
officers of the Executive from 550/. down to 100/.
The sum of 1000/. is granted annually to the King’s
College, at Fredericton; and the whole of the
charges on the Civil List amount to only 14,000/,
which is secured, by act of Parliament for this pur-
pose, out of the Provincial Revenue.

The amount of the Provincial revenue for the last
year was about 52,000/., and of the Territorial
Revenue about 54,000/., while the appropriations
did not exceed 100,000/., so that there was the rare
novelty of a surplus of revenue above expenditure in
the Colony. The number of ships entered inward
were 3,482, and outward, 3,527 ; while the number
of registered vessels belonging to the Colony was
520, measuring 120,517 tons, and manned hy 3,84<2
men The exports from the whole Province, includ-
incT timber, ships, fish, oil, and other articles, exceed
2,000,000/. sterling in value ; and the number of
emigrants entering from Great Britain had ave-
raged for the last few years from 5,000 to 6,000

^ One of the calamities to which the first settlers in
this Province has been subject, is the frequent occur-
rence of fires in the extensive forests of the interior.

430

KF.W BRUXSWICK.

though this has not happened so often of late as
formerly. One of these instances, however, is too
remarkable to be omitted. It occurred on the river
Miramichi, in 1825. The season of the year Tsum
mer,) was more than usually hot and drv, the ther
mometer frequently at 100°, though in the winter it’
goes down to 30 below zero. In October, the trees
of the forest were all so hot and dry as to be like
touchwood or tinder ; and on the 6th of that month

be^o^T^ T '^ere discovered to

re, whether by spontaneous ignition or bv

tained. This fire only increased the heat and dry-
ness of all the trees within its influence, so that the
conflagration spread with great rapidity. The atmos
phere was reddened over many miles of spacH^d’
this was overhung by black clouds of smokefin dense
masses, giving a peculiar and almost terrific gloom
to the picture. Ever and anon there were sSdden
flashes like lightning, accompanied by cracklinrr of
00 s, and multiplied sounds of escaping gas like
^he repeated discharges of cannon ; while shfwers of
burning forest were scattered far and
wide by the winds. The great heat, of course drew
the currents of the surrounding atmosphere’ more
powerfully towards its edges and centre, which onlv
served to increase the combustion j so that the flames
wept their way downward in the course of the river

he two approaching masses of fire on either bank
o boil, and hiss, and send up steam or vapour and

rolr of lb bubbling noise, added to that of the
of the flames, and the crackling and explosions

DREADFUL FIRE.

431

of the woods, was enough to inspire terror in the
boldest hearts.

The fire, in its progress, soon enwrapped the two
towns of Douglas and Newcastle, covering an area
of 6,000 square miles with flame ; and as in these
towns there were large deposits of rum, turpentine,
tar, oil, and even gunpowder, these all added fresh
fuel to the flame, and made it blaze with indescriba-
ble fury. The conflagration thus spread onward
with still greater rapidity than before, sweeping away
all the villages and single dwellings in its course,
and extending, in the whole, for more than 100 miles
alonof both banks of the river !

At least 500 human beings perished In the flames ;
while a much greater number of wild and domestic
animals were at the same time destroyed. The
putrescent and unburied bodies of both infected the
atmosphere, while the eflFect of this was still height-
ened by the dead bodies of the numerous Ashes which
were thrown up on the river’s banks. There were, at
this awful moment, not less than 150 vessels in the
Miramichi river; the crews of which were terror-
struck at the approach of a conflagration which
advanced with inconceivable rapidity, swept every-
thing before it, and threatened to enwrap them in
its destructive flames. Of the ships, some few
escaped, others were burnt down to the water’s edge
and then sunk. Of the men, many were burnt to
death ; and others, who escaped by getting out to
sea, were so mangled and blackened, as to carry the
marks for life ; while of those who succeeded in getting
beyond the actual reach of the fire, hundreds perished
for want of food, raiment, and shelter. Not less

432

NEW BRUNSWICK.

than a million’s worth of property, in timber, dwel-
lings, ships, and goods, were destroyed ; and the cala-
mity was, upon the whole, greater than any that
ever visited any British settlement before.

In England, a public subscription was raised, by
which 40 , 000 /. sterling was collected, and sent out
for the relief of the sufferers ; and the Americans of
the United States, to their honour be it said, not-
withstanding their border rivalries, were prompt to
come forward with relief, in money, and in materials,
to help their suffering fellow-creatures.

43 ?

CHAP. XXIX.

Capacity of our Colonies to relieve the mother-country of her
surplus population — Practicability of making them also assist
to extend our commerce — Questions of Free Trade and Emi-
gration — Want of employment among the labouring classes —
Colonial Emigration offers a speedy and effective relief —
Decline of great empires from neglect of Colonization, Com-
merce, and Education — Four great elements of national wealth
— Superabundance of all these in England — Plan for trans-
ferring these to our North American Colonies, by free gifts of
land, and free conveyance of Emigrants, at the national cost —
Certainty of benefits, far more than equivalent to the outlay,
which would amply reward the mother-country, as well as
enrich the Colonies.

Having now examined and described the separate
Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Bruns-
wick, and added to these some notices of Cape
Breton, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island,
this seems the most appropriate time and place in
which to offer some observations as to the capacity
of these Colonies for receiving and sustaining the
surplus population of the mother-country, and as to
their being made a source of wealth to their own
inhabitants, as well as of large pecuniary benefit to
Britain, from the extended commerce of which they
may be made the seat.

These questions, though at all times interesting
and important, have never been so urgent and press-

2 F

434

NEW PLAN OF

ing as at the present moment; when, from all the
accounts that reach us here (Fredericton), the united
evils of an increasing population, a decreasing trade,
and a falling revenue, seem to be working together,
and threatening more calamity to England than any
combination of causes for a long period. If these
evils were inflicted on the country by any natural
calamity — such as the withering up of the fertility
of her soil, the exhaustion of her mines, the hostility
of other nations, earthquakes, pestilence, or any other

causes beyond the control of her rulers to avert

the people might resign themselves patiently to their
fate. But, as it appears to me that the evils in ques-
tion have been brought about by impolitic legislation
— especially by the continuance of restrictions on
the importation of food from other countries, and by
either a vicious system of management, or a total
neglect of the immense resources which our own
Colonies possess, — it becomes an imperative duty on
all who love their country, to consider by what mode
the evils under which she labours may be remedied,
and her commerce and prosperity revived.

As the greatest evil, or that which is at the root
of all others, is want of employment for thelabour-
mg classes — since this, of course, renders them
unable to maintain themselves, and causes them to
fall back on the classes above them for support — so
the first step in the I’emedy required, is to procure
them that employment, by which alone they can earn
their own subsistence, and contribute to the general
wealth of the kingdom, instead of becoming a drain
upon its resources, and augmenting its poverty.

Such relief might be instantly given, if the Legis-

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

435

lature of England could but be prevailed on to
remove those barriers to the extension of our foreign
trade which they themselves have placed on it, in the
shape of laws for prohibiting the importation of the
produce of other countries, except on the payment
of such high duties as place them beyond the reach
of the labouring poor. The supplies of food, of every
kind, which could be imported into England, from
North and South America, Russia, Poland, France,
Spain, Egypt, and other fertile lands, — in grain,
cattle, and farming produce, as well as in coffee,
cocoa, sugar, and other wholesome and nutritious
articles of sustenance and enjoyment — would furnish
to the people of England all that they could desire,
if the heavy duties now imposed on them were re-
duced, or altogether removed. And there is not
one of all these countries, that would not readily
receive British manufactures, of various kinds, in
payment for these supplies ; so that the double good
would be effected, of giving employment to the con-
stantlv-increasing population of Great Britain, and
supplying them at the same time with those very
articles of sustenance which it is utterly impossible
that England can produce from her own soil in
sufficient quantities to feed her people. The sur-
face of the island is limited, and almost every acre
that could be profitably cultivated, is already brought
under the plough. The population, already in
excess beyond the means of being well employed
and adequately fed from her own soil, is increasing
at the fearful rate, it is believed, of nearly a thou-
sand a day ; so that the disproportion of numbers
to resources is every hour augmenting.

2 F 2

4.36

NEW PLAN OF

For such a state of things as this, there are but
two remedies. Either employment and food must
be brought from abroad ; or the people themselves
must be removed to other lands, to obtain that which
is denied them at home. A Free Trade with all
the nations of the earth would speedily effect the
former — Emigration, on an extensive scale, would
accomplish the latter. There is no good reason,
indeed, why both should not be had recourse to, as
this would make the remedy more speedy and more
effectual ; and both should be urged, without ceasino-,
ml achieved. But, as the landed proprietors of
England are all-powerful in the councils of the
country, there will no doubt be much greater oppo-
sition on their parts to Free Trade than to Emigra-
tion ; and as this last subject does not appear to iTave
received the public attention of the press or people
of England so extensively as the former, it may be
well to embody here the opinions which an extensive
personal survey of nearly all our Colonies, in both
emispheres, and a long and deep consideration of
the questions of Emigration and Colonization, have
induced me to form.

In doing this, it will not be necessary to advert
to the manner in which our extensive possessions in
Asia, Africa, and America were originally acquired,
tempting as the theme may be ; yet, to prevent mis-
conception, it may be well to state, that on a review
of all the circumstances attending the conquest or
acquisition of each, there appears to be much more
deserving of censure than of praise— more to be
ashamed than to be proud of— as force, fraud, plun-
er, and oppression, have been the chief elements by

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

ASH

which our Colonies have heen won and ruled and
this perhaps niay be the reason why they have
hitherto vielded us so little of national benefit. If
the first cost of the acquisition of each separate
Colony belonging to Great Britain could be estimated
in sterling money, including, of course, the equip-
ments of the fleets and armies used — the loans, sub-
sidies, and grants made — and the amount of debt
entailed ; and if to these could be added the annual
cost to the mother-country of the settlements that
have never yielded a revenue sufficient to pay their
own expenses, the sum would startle the boldest
financier \ and the most ingenious statesman would
be unable to show that equivalent advantages had
been derived from their possession.

That it is possible for nations to grow weaker by
an extension of territory, and to be drained of wealth
by multiplying their possessions and spreading their
dominion, has been proved in the case of the Romans,
the Arabs, the Spaniards and the Portuguese-each of
whom, in turn, fell, rather by the destroying power
of their own extension, than by any other cause.
And, though it was the boast of the two last-named
countries — as it may be that of England at the present

(jay that “ the sun never set on their dominions,

we see them both now reduced to the lowest degree
in the scale of nations— their weakness and poverty
causing them to be a by-word of reproach— their
Colonial dominion almost extinct, and their interna
peace perpetually disturbed by insurrection and

civil war. . p

There is nothing that can insure the escape ot

England from a similar decline and fall, but a just

43S

NKW PLAN OF

and wise use of the power she possesses, and pursuing
a course the very opposite of that which brought
Spain and Portugal to their present low estate.

With each of these nations, it was a prominent
feature of their policy to prohibit and prevent Colo-
nization, or the fixed and permanent settlement of
the European race within their Colonial territories.
Xheir governors, and subordinate officers, after amass-
ing ^fortunes from the plunder of the natives, retired
to Europe to spend them ; while the aborigines, and
the mixed races that succeeded them, were regarded
only as creatures out of which profit or gain, in some
shape or other, was to be made.

With each of these nations also, it was a prominent
feature of their policy, to make almost every branch
of commerce a Monopoly, for the benefit of some
royal or distinguished personage, or for the special
advantage of some peculiar class ; and at the same
time, so to burden all articles of export and import,
not passing througb these channels of monopoly,
with heavy and grievous imposts, as to crush all
freedom of trade.

A third feature of their Colonial policy, was to
keep all their subjects in the most profound igno-
rance ; to discourage Education, to fetter the press,
to stifle all aspirations after knowledge, and to make
the abject people bend their necks under the double
yoke of priestly bigotry and intolerance, and civil
and political despotism.

These were the destroying cancers which ate into
the very heart and vitals of Spanish and Portuguese
dominion, till both were gnawed away. And thev
were to the full as effective in completing the humf-

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

439

liation of the countries named, as were the thirst for
military conquest, and the lust of religious power
and subjugation, which caused the empire of Rome
and the caliphate of Bagdad, under which the Arabs
spread their dominion from the walls of China to the
borders of the Atlantic Sea, both to crumble away
into dust.

Let England take the opposite course, if she
would avoid a similar fate! Let her encourage
and assist the Colonization of all her distant posses-
sions, and plant them with her surplus population of
every rank and class. Let her remove all restric-
tions on Commerce, first between herself and her
own Colonies, and then between herself and other
nations— till she enjoys, as far as her power can
secure it, a Free Irade with all the woild.

And, lastly, let her so encourage Education in
all her borders, as to raise up an intelligent, vii-
tuous, and independent race of subjects, among
whom neither ecclesiastical nor political tyranny
can ever be introduced, since by such a race they

would never be endured.

The materials which the Government of England
possesses for the accomplishment of these great ends,
are in her own hands; they are as abundant as they
are efficient ; and they want only the requisite degree
of moral courage on the part of her rulers, to be
brought into immediate operation. Every year tlmt
thev are suffered to lie dormant, our national difh-
culties will increase; but the moment they are put
into active combination, these difficulties will begin
to diminish. Let us see, then, in what they consist.

440

NEW PLAN OF

The four great elements requisite for the produc-
tion of wealth, are land, labour, skill, and capital :
the first, to yield the raw materials, whether animal,
vegetable, or mineral, of which almost all articles
are composed ; the second, to perform the necessary
operations of obtaining these materials from the sur-
face or the bowels of the earth ; the third, to direct
these operations in the most economical and most
effective manner; and the fourth, to convey the
requisite amount of population to the scene of their
labours, and sustain them until the first realization
of profit from their own industry shall enable them
to support themselves.

Who can for a moment doubt that England pos-
sesses all these in greater abundance than any nation
on the face of the globe ? or that she has the power
to use them all for the national welfare, by the mere
will of her rulers, under the sanction of legislative
enactment ?

And first, of land . — To say nothing of the im-
mense regions of untilled and untrodden soil, which
belongs to England, in the Eastern world — millions
of acres in Hindoostan and Ceylon— millions more
in Australasia, the Cape of Good Hope, and the
Southern Seas — where there is room enough for the
whole population of Great Britain and Ireland ten-
times told : to say nothing of these, but confining
ourselves solely to those North American Provinces
of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Cape
Breton, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island,
through which the Tour recorded in this volume
extends, we have the following area

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

i41

Canada

Nova Scotia

New Brunswick .

Newfoundland

Cape Breton

Prince Edward Island

. 222,720,000 acres

9,995,880
17,280,000
. 23,000,000
2,000,000
1,360,000

Total . . 276,355,880

In order to make the comparative size of these ter-
ritories the more apparent, it may he well to append
the following —

England and Wales

Ireland

Scotland

Total

36,999,680 acres
20,399,360
18,000,000

75,399,040

It will be seen by this, that the area of the Cana-
das alone is about six times as large as that of all
England and Wales ; that Newfoundland alone is
larger than Ireland ; that New Brunswick is nearly
as large as Scotland ; and that Cape Breton and
Prince Edward Island are fully as large as Wales.
The whole area of our North American Provinces
alone is more than twice as great as that of all
France, which is 130,370,840 acres: but while
France has a population of 35,000,000 of people,
these Provinces have only an united population of
2,000,000, by the largest computation that can be

made. ^

As we have seen that there is here land enough
and to spare— for of the whole of this vast area
there are not more than 30,000.000 of acres granted,
and of these not more than 5,000,000 cultivated
let us next see whether we have labour to apply to

‘142

NEW PLAN OF

its cultivation. On this head, few proofs will be
required, si.nce the general notoriety of the fact ren-
ders these unnecessary. While Ireland pours forth
her tens of thousands of emigrants every year to the
United States and to these Provinces, — while Scot-
land sends her hardy sons to the remotest regions of
the globe in search of the means of existence,— and
while England has her union work-houses filled with
unemployed labourers, agricultural as well as manu-
facturing, and her poor’s-rates and population each
increasing yearly at a fearful rate,— no one can doubt
of there being an abundance of labour to be had, in
almost any quantity in which it may be required.*

Of sktll to direct that labour advantageously
there has hitherto been a lamentable deficiency in
most of our Colonies j because the business of Emi-
gration not being undertaken or directed by the
Government, but carried on by mercantile companies
or private individuals on their own account, few be-

sides the poor and destitute, who could not obtain
subsistence in their own country, have turned their
thoughts to Emigration as a remedy for the ills
under which they laboured. The poor, and persons
ot broken-down fortune and reckless character, have
formed hitherto too large a proportion of the num-
bers going out as settlers to our Colonies : so that
the “exile,” as it is called, is looked upon with feel-
ings o t e greatest distaste and reluctance by most
pel sons , and by some, indeed, is closely associated
^nlh either misfortune or crime. But if more power-
ful mducamnts were offered, sufficient to tempt a
new and better class of emigrants to leave their
native home, there would be no more difficulty in

NATIONAL COLONIZATION. 443

obtaining the highest amount of skill in every depart-
ment of agriculture, mining, and trade, to supply the
Colonies, than in procuring the requisite amount of
labour, to be directed by these, for the develope-
ment of our Colonial resources, and the enrichment
of all engaged in the increase of the national
wealth.

The last element in the catalogue of requisite
materials for the great work of making the Colonies
of England available to the mother-country, is the
possession of the means of conveying the requisite
amount of labour and skill to the spots where they
would be required, and the capital to sustain such
as might need that aid, until the first realization of
the profits of their own industry should enable them
to sustain themselves. With both of these, happily,
England is as amply provided as any nation on the
earth. The number of her ships of war now lying
idle in the harbours and docks of Portsmouth, Ply-
mouth, Deptford, Woolwich, and Sheerness, the
Medway and the Thames,— are of themselves suffi-
cient, if put into commission, to convey a million of
emigrants every year to the shores of our North
American provinces ; — and the funds of the public
treasury could he as easily applied to such pacific
and useful expeditions, as to the equipment of hos-
tile fleets for the war with China— the transport of
troops from Bengal and Madras for Canton and
Chusan — or those of Bombay for the Indus and the
war in AfTghanistan. All the materials are in the
hands of the British Government; and the only
thing that is wanting is the moral courage to use
them aright.

444 .

NEW PLAN OF

No one will deny that the 100,000,000 of acres
of ungranted, unappropriated, and untilled land in
our North American Provinces, are perfectly worth-
less to both government and people, till brought
under a state of tillage ; while the maintenance of
our Colonial forces and dominion, is a matter of
heavy cost and burden to the mother-country ; be-
cause there is not yet a resident population suffi-
ciently numerous, or sufficiently wealthy, to be taxed
for its support. To bring these acres into cultivation,
therefore, and to fill the country with an industrious
and productive population, would add to the wealth
of the Colony, and enable it to aid the mother-
country in relieving it of some of its heaviest bur-
dens, besides giving it the power of paying its own
expenses out of its own resources.

No one can deny that a redundant population,

beyond the means of profitable employment, — exists
in England at the present moment, and is likely to
become, every year, a source of greater expense to
the mother-country, in the increased burden of poor-
rates, and the exercise of public and private charity,
amounting in the whole to 10,000,000/. sterling at
least, which this necessarily involves, — as well as of
great suffering, from hunger, nakedness, and disease,
engendered by want — with great deterioration of
morals, in the ignorance and crime unavoidablv
resulting from such destitution as this. And yet,
such a population, with skill to direct its labours,
put to work on the uncleared forests, unopened mines,
and untilled lands of the Colonies, would produce
wealth from these, sufficient to place them all in a
state of almost immediate competency, and, ulti-

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

445

mately, of opulence. All that is wanted, indeed, is,
that the governing power in England should exert
its influence and authority to bring these elements
together. The flint and the steel will never yield
fire, while each is kept apart from the other. Bring
them into contact, and the spark is elicited which

produces a flame. i. he untilled acres, and the un-
employed hands, will never produce wealth while
they remain apart. Bring them into contact, and
the production of riches will he the inevitable result.

This can never happen, however, while the
Government demands a price for the land, which the
poor can never pay ; and while the passage across
the ocean, and the expenses of reaching the terri-
tories in question, present an insuperable harrier to
thousands of families who could never raise the
means of defraying the cost. The painful associa-
tions hitherto connected with exile to the Colonies,
owing to the poverty of the class generally going out,
as their last forlorn-hope of sustaining existence— as
well as from the privations to which these are sub-
iected on their first settlement in the woods,— from
the scarcity of good society, and the means of educa-
tion and intellectual pleasures,— all these have pre-
vented persons in the higher and middle ranks of
life from entertaining the thought of emigration o
the North American Colonies ; and without some
new and powerful inducement, this indisposition on
their parts to leave their native home will still
continue. And yet. painful aa is the pressure of
population on the moans of subsistence among the
labouring classes of England, it is quite as painful
(though not so publicly proclaimed) among the mid-

4<i6

NEW PLAN OF

die ranks. There is scarcely a family with an income
below a thousand a year, which does not feel the
difficulty of providing for its younger members.. The
navy and army are almost closed, and the world may
rejoice when they shall be entirely so, — the liberal
professions are all overstocked, — and every branch
of human pursuit in England is so crowded with
new competitors, increasing too every year, that
many pine in hopeless despair of even attaining to
anything beyond a bare and monotonous existence.

For all these, our Colonies afford ample room ;
and it needs but the fostering hand of the British
government so to change the position of millions,
now without hope, as to convert their present suffering
into immediate enjoyment, and their despair of the
future into well-founded expectations of substantial
happiness.

The following are the outlines of the principles
on which such a relief might be founded ; and the
details by which it might he worked out.

1st. The whole of the unappropriated lands in
the Colonies, called Crown lands, being the property
of the British nation, the Legislature of the Mother
Country has the undoubted right to regulate the dis-
posal of them by the Colonial Governments, in any
manner in which, by an act framed for that purpose,
they may think fit to prescribe — regarding, as the
basis of such act, the present exigencies of the British
population, and the importance of their well-being to
the general national welfare.

2d. An act might therefore be passed, authorizing
tne free gift of certain fixed and defined portions of
such lands, to families, or individuals applying for

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

44.7

them, on certain conditions to be prescribed — not at
the discretion of any governor, or other public autho-
rity — but by a law and regulation, bearing equally
upon all, and free from the possibility of any favour
or preference to any.

3rd. In order to ensure the best practicable
guarantee for the due fulfilment of the conditions on
which such free gifts should be made, the power of
the Government to resume possession of all lands
forfeited by non-performance of the requisite condi-
tions, and the power of re-granting them to others.

should form a part of such act.

4th. The Jree conveyance to the Colonies of all
applicants for land, under certain fixed regulations
also, should be provided for by the same law ; and the
Government be authorized to employ the requisite
number of ships, as well as to make such grants of
money, as might be voted in the estimates of the
year, for that purpose.

As an example of the conditions that might
accompany such grants of land, I will present my
own idea of a Plan ; though this, being matter of
detail, might, of course, be modified in any way that
might be thought necessary.

To every single or unmarried man, might be made
a grant of 20 acres to a man and wife without
children, 50 acres ; -to a family with one or more
children, 100 acres. The privilege of choice as to
locality, to be allowed to the applicants m the order
of their dates of application ; the only restriction being,
that the land must be previously unappropriated to
any other individuals. The coudilions to be annexed
should be: 1st. that unless a certain portion of the

44-8

NEW PLAN OF

grants were brought into pasture or tillage within
three years after they were appropriated, they might
he resumed, and the parties deprived of all right or
title to them for ever ; — 2nd. that if a dwelling-house
and farming-establishment were not erected and com-
pleted within Jive years, the resumption might also
take place ; — and 3rd. that the full and irrevocable
title to the actual possession in fee simple, with power
to sell, devise, or alienate the land so granted, should
not be completed until seven years of consecutive
and continuous occupation and cultivation of the
same should have taken place.

It may be urged that this would be giving away
the national domain, and cutting oflF a future source
of great gain. It would, indeed, be giving away that
which is at present of no use ; but by bringing it
into productive cultivation, and enriching the families
living on it, such an appropriation of the public
lands would make them far more productive to the
nation in twenty years of time, than they would be
likely to become, in the present mode of sale, in a
hundred ; besides giving immediate relief to every
parish in England, by a lightening of their poor’s
rates, and relieving also thousands, who, though not
paupers, are straitened in their circumstances, and
obliged to keep it secret, suffering upon the whole
as much in mind as others do in body, and forming
a very large class of the British population.

If, in the first year in which such an act should
come into operation, a million of persons should be
conveyed, at the public expense, across the Atlantic,
the savings in the poor-rates and private charity
alone throughout the kingdom, would more than pay

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

4t9

the cost ; for the ships being the property of the
nation, and the seamen and officers already in its
pay, the expense would be trifling, compared with
the object, certainly not 5,000,000/. : and thus, sup-
posing 10,000,000/. to be saved to the country by
this relief, (for this sum at least is expended at
present, in sustaining, in one shape or another, the
surplus unemployed population of the mother coun-
try, who are able and willing to get their own living,
if employment could be provided for them, indepen-
dently of the old and infirm, who would then be the
only claimants of parish support,) a fund would
remain, out of which might be provided all the
necessary implements of husbandry, seed, and cattle,
for the first settlement. These being collected in
depots in each province, might be supplied to indi-
vidual settlers, at a year’s credit, payable on the spot;
with power to distrain if not punctually discharged,
or to defer for another year, if special circumstances
warranted such an indulgence ; so that the actual
outlay of the Government, in capital, might be fully
saved to the country, in diminished poor-rates and
charitable contributions ; and all the supply of imple-
ments, cattle, and seed for first stocking farms, be
reimbursed in two or three years at the farthest.

Should a million of emigrants go out on this plan

and the number might be limited to this for the

first year, if thought desirable— they would require,
on their reaching their place of destination, all the
aids which are needed in this country, in the shape
of carpenters, bricklayers, wheelwrights, smiths,
painters, glaziers, plumbers, printers, teachers,
ministers, medical men, and others, essential to e\ery

2 G

4.50

NEW PLAN OF

numerous community : — and as such persons might
either themselves occupy grants of land, and turn
their knowledge of their several arts or professions
to profitable account, in such intervals of time as
agricultural labours allowed, or give themselves up
wholly to their respective branches of trade, they
would find ample reward, in payment by produce,
which takes place in every new country, and at the
same time relieve the pressure of all the respective
trades and professions to which they belong at home,
by their removal to another sphere of competition.

The very fact, however, of a Colony filling up
like this — with all grades and classes of society, so
mingled as to form a respectable and intelligent
community at once, instead of, as at present, com-
posed almost wholly of the helpless poor— would lead
richer capitalists to turn their attention to the same
region, as purchasers of land, as miners, or as
merchants. To such persons, the Government
might he empowered to sell tracts of not less than
500 nor more than 1 ,000 acres each, at the price
which public competition might establish ; with a
reservation of the power of resuming possession of all
such lands of which a certain portion was not brouo-ht
into pasture or cultivation within seven years from
the first purchase, and of refusing any further addi-
tion to such sales, until the first purchase should be
brought into a state of improvement : no such pur-
chases to be rendered irrevocable until seven succes-
sive and continuous years of actual residence and
occupation had elapsed, and then the title to be
granted in fee simple, and registered in the provincial
courts, with power to sell, devise, or alienate, as usual.

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

451

These restrictions, as to quantity and occupation,
would be necessary to prevent the great abuse that
has taken place in all our Colonies, in granting mil-
lions of acres to land-companies and adventurers,
who have suffered their immense possessions to lie
untilled and unpeopled, and yet made large sums by
selling off portions of their vast grants at compara-
tively extravagant prices.

There is another point of view, however, in which
this transfer of a million of people from England to
our North American Colonies may be regarded, and
it is this : — while they remain in England, they can-
not be otherwise than a burden to themselves and to
the community, non-producing, and non-consuming,
except at the expense of others, who, in one shape
or another, have to bear the burden of their mainte-
nance. But, on the soil of these provinces, this
million of people would become at once producers of
grain, cattle, and various other articles of food far
beyond their own power to consume ; and these they
would most willingly exchange for every article of
British manufactures, which habit had rendered
necessary or agreeable to them ; and for which they
would now have the means of paying, in the very
description of produce which the manufacturing
population of England most require. There would
not be a single individual out of all the million going
out, who would not become a speedy customer to
Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, and Rochdale, for wool-
lens and flannels ; to Manchester, Bolton, Oldham,
and Stockport, for printed and plain calicoes and
fustians ; to Derby, Coventry, and Macclesfield, foi
silks and ribbons ; to Nottingham and Leicestei foi

2 G 2

452

NEW PLAN OF

hats, hosiery, and lace ; to Northampton for boots
and shoes ; to Norwich and Exeter for serges and
stuffs ; to Birmingham and Wolverhampton for iron-
mongery of every kind ; to Sheffield for axes, edge-
tools, and cutlery ; to Staffordshire for china,
earthenware, and glass ; to Belfast and Dundee for
linen ; to Glasgow and Paisley for cotton and w’ool-
len goods ; and to London for books, stationery,
plate, jewelry, and a variety of other articles, which,
as British settlers, they would not consent to do
without, beyond the period in which they could pay
for them ; and that period would begin after their
first or second crop of corn had been raised, and
the first produce of their herds and flocks had been
realized.

The multiplied blessings of such a state of things
as this, to England and to the Colonies, as contrasted
with the sufferings of the redundant population of
the one country, and the dormant capacity for wealth
lying wholly unimproved in the other, must strike
the most unreflecting mind. And as we have incurred
a debt of eight hundred millions sterling, in a con-
tinued series of unjust, extravagant, and wasteful
wars, to adjust the balance of power, and keep the
due proportions of strength — or ability to do mis.,
chief— between the several tigers of the human race,
from Frederick to Napoleon, — it would now be wise
to devote some of our time, attention, and wealth,
to an attempt to adjust the balance of population , —
by preserving the due proportion between mouths to
be filled, and the means of supplying them with
food, — by taking from the limited space of our own
islands, the surplus number of people above our own

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

\53

power to employ advantageously, and conveying
them to those Provinces, where population will be
at once power and wealth ; while in England, the
excess, so to be disposed of, is at present a source of
feebleness and poverty.

It may be added, that this would be an easier task
than pouring our destroying armies into China and
Affghanistan. There, they were as unwelcome
visitors as an army of Chinese or Affghans would be
with us ; and as all robbers and plunderers, of what-
ever nation composed, always are. Here, however,
in the British Colonies, a fleet conveying an army
of emigrant settlers, embracing persons of several
grades, skilful directors as well as industrious labour-
ers, would be received with open arms ; illuminations
of joy would evince the pleasure with which they
would be hailed, and acclamations of welcome would
accompany them on their route. And why ? —
Because an increase of population, more especially of
the industrious, orderly, and productive classes, would
give increased value to every description of property
in the country ; and all the owners of such property
already settled in these Colonies would be benefited
by a corresponding augmentation in the value of their
estates and produce. Every, resident in each Pro-
vince would thus not only be better enabled, by this
rise in the value of his property, to provide for him-
self and his family, and accumulate wealth for them
all ; but the revenues of the country would also be
increased, whether they were raised by duties on
articles of manufacture or consumption imported
into the country, or by a property-tax assessed on the
realized capital, in lands, houses, mines, funds, &c,

454

NEW PLAN OF

Instead of the Colonies being, as they now mostly
are, a heavy charge on the mother-country, from the
deficiency of their own revenues being made up by
grants from the Imperial Parliament, each Colony
would be enabled, not only to pay its own charges,
but have a constantly accumulating surplus fund, to
be expended in the making of roads, bridges, canals,
and other public works, establishing schools, hospi-
tals, and asylums, building Court-houses and places
of worship, improving the navigation of the rivers,
increasing the number of lighthouses on the coast,
and introducing, year after year, the many improve-
ments which every Colony must require, in the sup-
ply of its physical, moral, and intellectual wants, for
the happiness of its increasing population.

The principal objection, perhaps, that could be
urged to this plan of filling up our North American
Colonies in the way proposed, would be its tendency
to prepare the people too rapidly to assert their inde-
pendence, and throw oflf their connection w’ith
England. To this it may he replied, 1st, That the
ultimate independence of all our Colonies, of any
extent in size and population, is an event which no
human power can prevent j and which ought to be,
tlierefore, always anticipated and prepared for.
2dly. That when this event takes place, it is desirable
that it should he with the free will and consent of
both parties, and in a pacific and not hostile manner,
tldly. I hat it is likely to be accelerated, in point of
time, by any course of policy which the colonists
themselves shall deem unjust, and be therefore dis-
posed to resist , — as in the case of the United States
of /imerica ; and that it may be retarded and delavcd

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

455

by timely concessions to all reasonable wishes, and
granting to the colonists a full participation in all
the benefits enjoyed by the subjects of the mother-
country. Lastly. That whenever it may take place,
it can only be an evil to Great Britain, if effected by
violence, and in a spirit of determined hostility to the
parent race; but could not, if accomplished by
mutual consent, and in a friendly spirit, be productive

of any substantial disadvantage to either party.

At present, many thousands of the poorest class
of the British population leave the shores of England,
Scotland, and Ireland, for the western world. Some
of these go to Canada, and others to the United
States. As the former presents no particular advan-
tage over the latter in a pecuniary point of view,
while the latter offers many temptations in the politi-
cal importance with which every citizen of the repub-
lic is there invested, thousands go to the United
States in preference. Many of these, never having
enjoyed the franchise or suffrage in their own country,
and attributing the poverty which compelled them to
leave it, to the misgovernment under which they
lived, they become more hostile in their feelings
towards Great Britain and her political institutions
than even the x\mericans themselves ; and assist
materially to foment and extend the worst spirit of
hatred and contempt towards England, and her
power and influence, which characterizes the great
mass of the lower classes of the American population.

Every individual of this large body of emigrants,
amounting to more than 100,000 yearly m^ht be
drawn to our own Colonies, and fixed there, by the plan
I have proposed ; and, then, instead of adding to the

450

NEW PLAN OF

numbers of those who become hostile to England and
English interests, they would swell the population
most likely to be attached, as the great bulk of the
Canadians of British descent at present are, to the
name, honour, and welfare of the mother-country ;
because, in addition to the instinctive preference of
the nation and stock from whence we have sprung,
which is common to the people of all nations, there
would, in this case, be the additional tie of gratitude
for benefits conferred, and privileges enjoyed ; while
the continued communication with friends and rela-
tives at home, and the constant intercourse with
England, through the medium of books, newspapers,
and private correspondence, would serve to strengthen
and perpetuate the reciprocal feelings of pride, loyalty,
and affection for the father-land.

There are still some persons, though happily their
number is every year diminishing, who think a War
would have at least this benefit, that it would rid the
country of some of its surplus population by deaths ;
that it would give employment toothers in the equip-
ments of fleets and armies ^ and that it would revive
many branches of trade, by causing a demand for the
various articles required by the commissariat of large
expeditions.

The plan of Colonization here proposed would have
all these advantages of War, except the first, (if that
indeed could ever be considered one at all;) and if
it should be deemed necessary to keep up old names
and old forms, for the sake of supporting what is
called the “national dignity let this be considered
to be a War-— not against France, or Russia, or
America it is true, but a war against Poverty,

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

457

Disease, and Crime, three enemies more important
to be subdued than any with which we have to con-
tend, because they are always with us, and always
draining our resources, and destroying our prosperity.
Let there be a “ Royal Proclamation,” if it be neces-
sary to “ maintain the privileges of the Crown ; ”
and let the Queen issue her “Declaration of War”
against these three great enemies of her realm and
subjects.

Let the Admiralty be all in motion, to put into
commission every unemployed ship of war ; let half-
pay officers be summoned from their retirement to
enter into active service ; let men be recruited and
enlisted at all the outports of the kingdom ; and let
the Government stores of materials and provisions,
in all the dock-yards and arsenals of the coast, be
collected and increased for the use of this Pacific
Expedition.

In lieu of cannon, mortars, bombs, shells, and
rockets, let the iron-foundries be employed in making
plough-shares, hoes, spades, and other agricultural
implements : instead of muskets, lances, and bayo-
nets, let the workshops of England be employed in
producing scythes, pruning knives, and reaping
hooks. No war-horses for cavalry, gunpowder for
artillery, or rum and brandy for sappers and miners,
or infantry, would be required. In place of these,
cattle for farm-stock, seed for sowing, and wholesome
food and drink for all classes, might be laid in, at
half the cost ; and quite as much activity infused
into the various channels of labour from which these
supplies would be required, as any war with France,
Russia, or America, could produce ; with this great

458

NEW PLAN OF

advantage, that all the capital thus expended, instead
of being lost and wasted, as it is in War, without an
equivalent benefit, would be here productive of future
wealth, more than sufficient to repay all the first
outlay.

Thus, indeed, might we fulfil the first command
of the Deity to his creatures, to “increase and multi-
ply, and replenish the earth,” and realize the pro-
phecy, “that men should turn their swords into
plough-shares, their spears into reaping hooks ; that
every man should sit under his own vine and under
his own fig-tree, with none to make him afraid : and
that nations should not learn war any more.”

iSuch an Expedition as this, would be the most

glorious that ever sailed from the shores of Europe,

undertaken with purer and more generous motives,
and devoted to higher and nobler ends, than those of
Da Gama or Columbus, of Drake or Anson, of
Nelson or of Napier ; and far more worthy than all
these, of a nation professing to believe and follow
that Gospel, which proclaims “ Peace on earth, and
good will towards men.”

Let us hope, therefore, that it may be the fortu-
nate lot of some individual, high in the councils of
the nation, to suggest this mode of National Relief
to our young and innocent Queen ; and that the
attribute of benevolence, which so becomes a female
crown, may he brought into such activh operation as
to lead to the serious adoption and practical execu-
tion of a plan, by which millions may he saved from
a premature death,— and the condition of millions
t at survive be changed fi-om poverty and wretched-
ness to competence and ease ; the national wealth

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

459

augmented, national industry employed, and national
glory, of the truest and most enduring kind, be
established on the firmest foundations bn which
earthly dominion can repose.

P. S. — Since this chapter was originally written,
the circumstances of the country have grown so much
more embarrassed, from want of employment, and
from declining trade, that what seemed most urgent
when I was in the heart of New Brunswick in 1840,
appears to me still more imperative, now that I am
in England in 1843. And that others are begin-
ning to be of the same opinion may be inferred from
the fact, that while these sheets are passing through
the press, a memorial is preparing by the merchants
and bankers of the City of London, praying the
Government to consider some Plan of Colonization,
to be undertaken at the national cost, for the relief
of our surplus and suffering population ; while a
member of the House of Commons, Mr. Charles
Duller, has given notice of his intention to move an
Address to the Crown, praying her Majesty to take
this subject into her gracious consideration. Free
Trade and extensive Colonization can alone, indeed,
save England from impending ruin. Both are im-
portant, and both ought to be adopted ; but, as is
the case with most remedies, the more speedily these
are applied, the more effective will they be; while
the longer they are delayed, the more difficult it
will become to carry them into execution.

In my last work on the “ Eastern and Western
States of America,” vol. ii. p. 8, published at the

460

NDW PLAN OF

close of the last year, this subject of extensive Emi-
gration from Europe to America was advertcd'to ;
and a Plan was pointed out by which the nations of
the Old World might relieve themselves of their
surplus population, and at the same time hasten the
developement of the resources of the New. To that
proposition the objection raised, was, that it was
not the interests of the monarchies of Europe to
strengthen or enrich the republics of America ; and
that their co-operation could not be ensured to assist
m such a work, even though it would procure an
outlet for their own population, and give their
respective countries considerable relief.

1 o the present Plan no such objections can applv.
It must be the interest of Great Britain to people*
plant, and enrich her own Colonies ; and she needs
not the sanction or assistance of any other nation to
relieve the pressure on her own population by such
a mode as this ; so that no obstacle presents itself to
Its immediate accomplishment, beyond that of the
difficulty of transferring to the Legislature and the
liulers of the country, the impress of the public
feeling and the public will. The agency of th'e press,
ot petitions, memorials, addresses, and resolutions,
will, however, soon effect this ; while the exigencies
of the times, increasing every day, nay, every hour.
Will greatly accelerate it.

I may add, that since the manuscript of this work
was sent to the press, I have read, with great in-
terest and delight, the two admirable volumes of
Mr. Charles Fellows, descriptive of his Tours in
Asia Minor, and his Discoveries in Lvcia more
1 rticularly ; and I could not help asking myself

NATIONAL C( )LONIZ ATION.

4.G1

repeatedly, while passing over their pages, why the
Colonies of the British nation, should not be made
to be as great and flourishing as those of the ancient
Greeks? There, in a single Province, Lycia, — embra-
cing little more than a degree in latitude and longi-
tude, or not more than 2,000,000 of acres, smaller
than the smallest of the British Provinces of North
America, with a large portion of even this limited
area occupied by rocky mountains and craggy and
inaccessible cliffs, without a single large navigable
river or lake, and with no greater fertility than many
parts of Upper Canada present — were no less than
thirty-six cities, in the time of Herodotus; while
over the 200,000,000 of acres in our Western Pro-
vinces, we could not present, in the united public
works and edifices, all put together, so much of
architectural beauty, cost, and grandeur, as some
single one of these cities of Asia Minor possesses, even
now, in such of their remains as have come down to
us after 2,000 years or more of time ! What Colo-
nies of ours even the oldest and the richest the

East Indies, or the West Indies, each owning the
sway of Britain for 200 years at least,— can show, in
all their united works, such edifices as those of
Xanthus, Aphrodisias, Mylasa, Stratoniceia, Ca-
lynda, Cadyanda, Tlos, Pinara, Sidyma, Patara,
Phellus, Myra, Arycanda,— all within the little Pro-
vince of Lvcia only ? while the other provinces of
Asia Minor, spreading over an area of less than
half that occupied by our Western Colonies, is filled
with remains of ancient art and magnificence in

every part.

And yet these were

all Grecian Colonies, having

4G2

NEW PLAN OF

no other sources of wealth than their soil and its
productions, and free commercial intercourse with
their mother-country and surrounding nations. Out
of that soil, and through this commerce, they raised
all the wealth which enabled them to build the cities
and erect the monuments, which we value so highly,
that we fit out ships of war, and send costly expedi-
tions to bring home their dilapidated inscriptions
and rifled tombs.*

Even in the little region of the Decapolis, east
of the river Jordan, beyond Palestine, throuoh
which I travelled in 1815-a small Roman Colony
of much less extent than Lycia — the ten cities that
gave name to the Province, contained more of
architectural magnificence than all our Transatlantic
possessions put together j while works of utility as
well as of ornament abounded, in roads, bridges,
aqueducts, and reservoirs, to promote intercourse
and facilitate cultivation ; and the temples, theatres.

The French expended nearly £100,000 sterling to bring
home the single Obelisk of Luxor from Egypt, and set it up in
Uie public square at Paris; and the cost of the transport of the
Elgin Marbles, and other monuments of antiquity, purchased or
procured for the British Museum, would convey thousands of
families to our Colonies. Not but that art deserves a portion of
our attention and our wealth ; but the necessities of the starving
poor should now be our first consideration : and if we could
people and enrich our own Colonies, by agriculture and com-
merce, as the Greeks did theirs, we might then try to rival them
in budding Templ^ss, Palaces, and Tombs still more sumptuous
than theirs : and fill our Museums with the perfect chcf-d^ceuvres

tZ T ™l>erfect wreck and broken

NATIONAL COLONIZATION.

463

hippodromes, amphitheatres, and naumaehia still
existing, even in that remote and comparatively
obscure province, might put to shame the directors
of the Colonial policy of England.

But it is not too late to follow these ancient
examples. Whatever Greek or Roman could accom-
plish in their Colonies or conquered Provinces, we can
do as well in ours, if we but put forth our energies to
effect it. Our soil and climate is as good, and our
agricultural and mineral wealth as great as that of
any of the dependencies of antiquity. We have a
knowledge of mineralogy, chemistry, and steam-
power, to which they were strangers. Our ships can
traverse the Atlantic more speedily and safely than
their frail barks and galleys could traverse the Medi-
terranean. Education is with us more easy than with
them, from the treasures and faculties which the art
of printing has accumulated for us. In architectui e,
sculpture, and painting, we have, like them, the means
of adorning Colonies, as well as planting them ; and
if, instead of filling up our distant settlements with
criminals, and those nearer to our coasts with pau-
pers, we would take the pains to form Colonies like
those of the ancient Greeks, — each body of emigrants,
headed by some esteemed and honoured leader, re-
sponsible for their safety and prosperity, and resting
his fame as well as fortune on their success, accom-
panied by professors of every science and art, work-
men of every trade required, and competent skill to
teach and direct, as well as labour to learn and
execute, so that all the elements of a perfect commu-
nity might land on the same shores from the same
expedition if this were done, and it is quite as

464 <

ST. JOHN.

practicable now as it was 2,000 years ago, there is
no reason why they should not build at once, cities
like Smyrna or Ephesus, like Telmessus or Olympus,
as on the sea-coast of Asia JVIinor i or proceeding
into the interior of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or
Canada, rear such cities as Sardis, Laodicea, Hiera-
polis, Thyatira, and Philadelphia, and others equally
beautiful in the mountains and valleys of the same
romantic i-egion.

The surrounding country would afford them all
abundant supplies of food ; their herds and flocks
would multiply ; their forests yield timber, and their
fields grain, for exportation as well as use ; and while
all the productive powers of agriculture, mining, and
commerce might be set in motion in the surroundino-
country and coast, the cities might become the sea't
of every art and science known ; and opulence, refine-
ment, and enjoyment would crown the labours of all.
It was so in these Greek Colonies of Asia Minor
and the Roman Colony of Decapolis ; and unless it
can be shown that the people of antiquitv had at
their command more land and more laboui^, greater
skill and greater capital, than we— which we know
not to have been the case— no reason can be assigned
why we should not equal them at least, and sui pass
them if possible, in the successful issue and brilliant
results of a well-considered and well-directed plan
oi JNational Colonization.

CHAP. XXX.

Departure from Fredericton — Arrival at Woodstock — Crossing
the Boundary Line — Mars Hill — American Fort at Houlton —
Note on Lord Ashburton’s Treaty — Tariff — Corn Laws —
Reform Bill — Arrival at Bangor in Maine — Voyage to Port-
land — Beautiful View of Boston — Journey to Worcester,
Norwich, and New London — Arrival at New York.

On Saturday the 24th of October we left Fredericton
at 8 A. M., accompanied hy many friends to see us
off, in the stage-coach running between this and
Woodstock, the westernmost or frontier town to-
wards the American boundary. The weather was
bright and beautiful, and the appearance of the town
gay and sparkling, with its lofty and tin-capped
spires. The coach and its driver were more after
the American than the English fashion, and the
horses and harness were equally so. Warm and sunny
as the weather was at present, we were assured there
had been some years in which snow had fallen in
every month, though, generally speaking, here, as in
the United States, the summer begins in May, and
is very hot till August, while September and Octo-
ber are the most agreeable months in the year.

2 H

NEW BRUNSWICK.

4f)6

Our road lay along the right bank of the river
St. John, the scenery of which was pretty, rather
than grand; the cultivation appeared everywhere
neat and clean. On the borders of the stream were
encamped some Indians, of the Meleseet tribe, who
are fast diminishing, and in a few years hence will,
no doubt, be extinct.

Twice in the course of our journey we crossed
the river St. John in ferryboats, which took over the
coach and horses without the necessity of the pas-
sengers alighting. The stream was in these parts
narrow, and the water shallow, hut in the spring of
the year, on the breaking up of the ice, and melting
of the snows, its channel is broad and deep.

We reached Woodstock at 7 a. m., having been
eleven hours in performing 65 miles ; and the fare
for each person being three dollars. No public con-
veyances went beyond this, towards the United
States, so that we were obliged to arrange for pro-
curing a private one, and learnt, to our great disap-
pointment, that no covered carriage of any description
was kept in the place, either for private use or for
hire, and that we must wait until the morning before
even an open one could be got ready. The inn was
so dirty, and the hostess so unaccommodating, that
we preferred sitting up rather- than going to bed ;
and the night being excessively cold, we had great
difficulty in procuring sufficient fire-wood to keep us
warm. We had met with nothing more disagreeable
than this in any of the back settlements of America,
and we hoped the time would soon come when more
settlers, and of a higher and better class, would be
pouted into this region, to fill it with those who

WOODSTOCK.

4G7

would have means and taste to surround themselves
with greater comforts, and be able and willing to
furnish them to others.

On the morning of the 25th, we left Woodstock
at the early hour of 4 a. m., in an open waggon,
which was the only vehicle that could be obtained
in all the town, to take us across the American
Boundary line, into the first post of the United
States Government at Houlton. The air was bit-
terly cold, with sleet and snow, and it was pitch
dark. From the carelessness and indifference of the
driver, our luggage was so loosely packed, that one
of the trunks fell off on the road, and its loss was
not perceived till some time afterwards, so that we
had to retrace our steps a mile or more to recover
it, in which we fortunately succeeded ; though an
hour or two later it would have been buried in the
drift of the snow, already beginning to accumulate
around it on the road.

At daylight we arrived at the Boundary line,
which was here marked by a broad opening in the
primitive forest,— a sufficient number of trees having
been cut down to leave a road or track of 50 feet
in breadth, running due north from the monument
fixed by agreement of both parties at the head of the
St. Croix river to Mars’ Hill, a prominent and
isolated mountain, the position of which was also
fixed by mutual consent, as one of the points in the
Boundary line to be settled. Besides the central
opening occasioned by the removal of all the trees
for a breadth of 50 feet, the outer rows of trees im-
mediately fronting this space on either side, were
blazed or burnt, till nearly all their bark was de-

2 H 2

468

AMERICAN FORT.

stroyed, so as to make the Boundary more defined •
and in the centre of the road, as we crossed this
opening, was a lofty pole, erected on the stump of a
large tree left for that purpose, to give still further
certainty to the line of demarkation and division
between the two territories.

The American fort and garrison of Houlton, is
only one mile west of the line ; while Woodstock is
at least twelve miles distant from it. On approaching
Houlton, on the ramparts of whose fort, the Ame°
rican flag was waving, we had a fine view of Mars
Hill, distant probably from ten to twelve miles.
Its elevation is about 2,000 feet ; and being isolated
and unconnected with any chain, it rises above all
the surrounding country, and may be seen in a clear
day at a distance of 60 or 70 miles. Its summit is
rounded, and it has a slight depression near its
centre, forming two protuberances from one base,
resembling Mount Tabor, in Palestine, in the
view of that eminence as you approach it from
Nazareth.

The village of Houlton, which we entered at sun-
rise, is very small, containing not more than fifty
dwellings, besides the barracks and storehouses con-
nected with these. Some American troops are con-
stantly stationed here; and those we saw, both
oflicers and men, resembled other portions of the
same body that we had seen at Detroit and else-
where. Their personal appearance, dress, and
carriage, is greatly inferior to that of English or
any other European troops, at least of the great

when under arms, it must be admitted, by all candid

THE BOUNDARY LINE.

469

minds, that they are quite equal to those of any
nation in the world.

While crossing this Boundary line, and seeing
the vast tract of untrodden forest that lay in the
direction of where what is called “ The Disputed Ter-
ritory” lay, we could not but regret, that while each
of the contending nations had already millions of
acres more than they could people for a century
perhaps to come, they should dispute and quarrel
about what each party might readily cede to the
other, and never feel the loss. It would be a cheap
purchase of tranquillity and good feeling between the
two nations to give up the whole territory in dispute ;
but if this be thought to involve a point of honour,
surely the policy of mutual concession might be
tried ; and as it is plain that neither party are in a
condition to show that their claims are free from all
objections, or in perfect accordance with the language
of the treaty of 1783, the wisest plan would be to
appoint a special ambassador on either side, to meet
together with full powers to arrange a compromise
on the basis of mutual concession ; for there is
margin enough for both nations to give and take ;
and in this way alone can the question ever be satis-
factorily settled. A war for such an object would
be little short of insanity ; and at its close would
leave the question as unsettled as ever; besides
wasting the lives and property of both countries,
and entailing debts and obligations, and feelings of
rancour and hatred, which it would take years to
allay.*

* Since this was written, the question has been happily set at
rest, by the mission of Lord Ashburton ; and of this I feel assured.

470

THE BOUND ART LINE.

G brG8.kfEstGcl at tlic liotcl of Houlton, Rnd
remarked that the painted canvass or oil-cloth, which

tJiat if he had been sent out by the Whig administration instead
of the Tory, we should have seen the leaders and the press of that
party eulogizing his wisdom and discretion, and congratulating
both countries on his success. As it is, however, though he has
succeeded in settling the Boundary line on as advantageous terms
to England, as any Whig ambassador could have hoped to do, he
is set-upon with a ferocity that is almost as ludicrous as it is
disgraceful. His treaty is called a “ capitulation,” and it is urged
against him, as a crime, by the liberal press and liberal orators
of England, that he spoke of Boston as “ the cradle of American
liberty,” as if this were a sentiment unbecoming a British peer
to entertain. The shades of Chatham, Burke, Fox, and Barre
should rise from their graves to reproach these degenerate Whigs!
vvho tliink an admiration of and sympathy with “ the cradle of
American liberty,” unbecoming a British statesman ! It were
more worthy of a descendant of Lord North or Lord Mansfield
to utter such a reproach ; but, from a professedly liberal press
and liberal leaders in Parliament, it is, to say the least, discredit-
able I remember nothing of party rancour or injustice in the
conduct of public men or public writers in America more flagrant
than this attempt to run down and decry the successful issue of
Lord Ashburton's mission, in securing a settled Boundary and
probable Peace for England. It should be added, to the honour
of the three Whig Governors of the North American Provinces-
Lord Falkland, Sir William Colebrooke, and Sir John Ilarvey-
that each of them, in their seyeral speeches with which they ope^d

Scotia, New Brunswick, and
subip f It, Pi^esent year, 1843, made this
llhls 1 settlement of the Boundary line, matter of the

..ghest congratulation, as calculated to consolidate the peace of

g^'^atly to improve their commerce. Their
sheT reached us in the Provincial papers, while these

.tet. g.,„g II.. „d U i/gLiijing

by those who, being nearer to the scene than ourselves,

HOULTON.

4.71

covered the table after the breakfast-cloth was
removed, contained this device and motto. In the
centre was the American Eagle, and around it were
these words — “ The firm friend of American industry,
Henry Clay. — The tariff, the whole tariff, and
nothing hut the tariff.” This was an evident
parody on the recent watchword of the English
reformers — “ The hill, the whole bill, and nothing
but the bill.” The reflecting portion of the com-
munity, in both countries, will one day think these
great national boasts equally worthless ; and both, it
is hoped, will before long he reformed. The Ame-
ricans have this excuse for their mistake, that they
use it as a retaliation on the English for their unjust
Corn Laws. But the English reformers were either
blind or hypocritical, in pretending that their measure
could effect its avowed object, when they suffered so
many obstacles and impediments to remain to the
free and independent exercise of the franchise in
those who before held it, as well as in those
to whom it was newly extended. Time, the great
rectifier, will, it is to be hoped, amend them

both.

We succeeded in procuring at Houlton, though a

are most likely to be keenly alive to its importance for good or
for ill ; and their contentment with the settlement that has been
made, may well assure us, that it is not the “ reckless capitulation"
which the Whig organs and Whig orators of England, m t e
blindness of party spirit, have endeavoured to make it appear.

While writing this note, it is some gratification to perceive,
that notices of motion have been given by Mr Hume and Lord
Brougham, for a vote of thanks to Lord Ashburton for tlm
manner in which he conducted the negotiations, and brought them
to a successful close.

472

MAINE.

much smaller place than Woodstock, what we could
not obtam there, an excellent covered staoe-coach
with four homes; and engaging with the «ver u,
pay him 50 dollars, about 10/., (his own price) for
the journey to Bangor, 117 miles, we left Houlton at
Q A.M,, and proccoded on our wav T’Vio i
track ^y through a dense foresH-pinr Lran”
maple trees now in bright and gorgeL colours fr„m
hear decaying foliap. Log.hu£ of settlers I”

in he forest, and trees were in many places c„t ,^n

iTcrivt:

* th \ ^ road was unusually rouah throuffh

ahoutgi miles "■ from hene^

-oTiirhoiTrv““

fortune at* Woods! “k’; td £“Cfcr“' “T t

We tarn thT® T T?P“' " fc-iliarity.

th^h ^ f SO high here that

Itterorl t “ '>'» ‘h
ttd"'S’f:rft:rrd'r

the administration Ha ” f^^^^^ate opposed to
Brunswick tea ”; i ^ New

dinner as well a ii dinner, or rather at

almost all families usi^^irth ™oal,

supper, or four times a^day.

point where the station, we reached the

with those of the P joins its waters

the Penobscot ; and here also we

BANGOR.

473

alighted, and had an excellent supper and a most agree-
able and obliging landlord. The houses along this
route appeared to us neater and cleaner than in many
of the more settled parts of the United States ; for
here the primitive forests were still standing, and our
road for the greater part of the way lay right through
them.

We left this station at 6 p.m., the weather growing
cloudy and dark, and at night the cold became in-
tense, with a heavy fall of snow. In the midst of
one of the violent gusts of wind which blew, our
coach was overturned, the first occasion of an upset
we had experienced in a journey of three years ; but
fortunately no one was seriously hurt, though the
entire scattering of the baggage in the road, and the
time and labour required to replace all, and raise
the coach, before we could resume our journey, w^as
a disagreeable interruption.

Soon after resuming our way, we passed the Falls
of the Penobscot river, by a closed bridge which here
traverses the stream, about 15 miles before entering
Bangor, and near to the Indian village called Old
Town, which is situated here.

It was five o'clock on the morning of October 26,
when we reached Bangor ; and we had just time to
drive to the steamboat about to start for Portland,
when we embarked under a heavy fall of snow. We
soon found ourselves surrounded with all the usual
characteristics of an American party. A red-hot
stove stood in the centre of the gentlemen s cabin,
around which were congregated 50 or 60 passengers,
nearly all chewing tobacco, and soiling the. deck
in succession ^ and though it was nearly dark, the thin

474

PENOBSCOT BAY.

wiry voices and drawling tones, so peculiar to the
New Englanders, were, enough to remove all doubt
as to our associates.

We left Bangor at 6 a.m., and passed down the
Penobscot river, which has bold rocky banks on either
side, like the river Kennebec. At the mouth of the
river, we saw the large port of Belfast, in which were
anchored a great many ships. Below this, the Bay
of Penobscot opens, and the town of Camden is seen,
with an island, on which were now the remains of a
wreck near it.

Farther down the Bay, and on the same side with
Belfast and Camden, we passed Thomas-Town, which
we reached at half-past one o’clock, this beino-
accounted half way between Bangor and Portland!
Here the wind shifted to the south, and brought us
a heavy rolling sea from the Atlantic ; but taking the
inner passage between the islands and the coast, the
efiect of the swell was greatly abated. These islands
are very numerous, and some of them are large, but
few are inhabited. They are highly useful as form-
ing a natural breakwater for the coast, and give
good shelter for fishing-boats employed here in the
season The coast all along is full of fine bays,
and fishing villages, and the lighthouses are numer-
ous and excellent.

At sunset it gathered up dark and thick, por-
tending a heavy south-west gale ; and as we had
some open sea to cross before we could reach Port-
and, many became alarmed for their safety. Indeed,
there were some periods in which the sea ran so high,

and Iffl ’■“IW so heavily, that the captain

and officers betrayed great anxiety, not to say fear.

PORTLAND.

475

and all were most happy when we reached Portland
harbour near midnight.

Finding the steamer just on the point of leaving
for Boston, we were all speedily transferred to her,
though the removal of nearly a hundred passengers,
including many women and children, on a stormy
night, the confusion in selecting and identifying
baggage, and the horror of passing over narrow
planks between rolling vessels in pitchy darkness,
was a labour of some difficulty and little pleasure.

Soon after midnight, on the ^jy^h of October, we
left Portland, in the large and commodious steamer
of the same name; and in a short period after quitting
the harbour, the passengers, exceeding 150, were all
in bed, 200 separate berths being the extent of ac-
commodation furnished by this splendid vessel. The
wind shifted to the north-west, which, blowing off
the shore, gave us smooth water, but the air was
intensely cold. Soon after sunrise, we passed round
Cape Ann, which forms the eastern extremity of the
Bay of Boston, and observed here two excellent light-
houses on a small rocky island off the promontory,
near which are several other small islands also.
Nothing is more striking than the contrast between
the fewness of the lighthouses, from Quebec to Hali-
fax, and all through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and
their frequency and excellence here. Everything,
indeed, that conduces to the safety of navigation and
trade, is most liberally supplied by the American
government, in which it might serve as a pattern
worthy of imitation by much older countries than
itself.

Within the bay, just beyond Cape Ann, appeared

47G

BAY OF BOSTON.

the flourishing little town of Gloucester ; and as
the sun rose bright, and the sky was cloudless, while
schooners and small-craft innumerable were entering
into or departing from the Bay, and ships of large
size were seen in the offlng, the moving picture was
animated and beautiful. The busy preparation of
150 passengers, who had all now left their beds for
breakfast, the washing, brushing, and combing, in
common— which is hardly to be avoided in so large a
number, since separate rooms for each would require
vessels of twice the present size— made the greater
number, however, indifferent to the beauty of the
scene, as the occupations of the breakfast-table
absorbed all their time and thoughts. The morning
meal was soon despatched, and by this time we were
just passing the Half-way-Rock, as it is called,
between Cape Ann and Boston, about 15 miles from
each. It is steep, lofty, and rugged ; and is crowned
with an excellent lighthouse.

Beyond this we had a fine view of Salem and
Marblehead, two of the sea-ports of New England ;
and the crowds of vessels coming out of their har-
bours, with the fair north-west wind, added to those
from Boston, literally covered the sea. We next
passed by the rocky promontory of Nahant, which is
the favourite sea-bathing place and summer retreat
^ 1.1 ^ Bostonians in the dog-days, and a most agree-
able spot it is for such a purpose. Beyond it, the
snowy-white town of Lynn, celebrated for the extent
ot Its manufactures of ladies’ shoes, with which it sup-
p les a most every State in the Union, was spread out
on the plain. And now the entrance into the har-
or o oston increased in interest and beauty every

CITY OF BOSTON.

477

mile as we advanced. The numerous islands that
stud the Bay, some with forts, others with country
mansions, some with hotels, and others with cottages
and gardens, give great variety to the scene ; while
the noble City, rising from the water, street over
street, and terrace over terrace, covering the sides of
the steep peninsular hill on which it stands, and
crowned by the majestic State House, with its beauti-
ful fagade nnd domes, make up a picture of such
varied beauty, as few marine cities can surpass.

We passed by the fine line-of-battle ship, Colum-
bus, of 80 guns, lying at anchor at the entrance of
the harbour, in full trim for sea ; and landed at Bos-
ton about eleven o’clock. This gave us a few hours
to visit some of our most intimate friends in the City,
and take leave of the principal families from whom we
had received attentions during our former stay here j
and after many affectionate greetings and warm
adieus, we left Boston at p.m., by the railroad for
Worcester, a beautiful inland city of Massachusetts,
described at length in my former volumes on Amer-
ica. We reached Worcester at half-past five ; and
from thence, passing through a thickly peopled manu-
facturing district, we reached Norwich, in Connec-
ticut at 9. This is a large and beautiful town, seated
on the river Thames, and is full of active and flou-
rishing manufactories and trading establishments.

From hence we proceeded down the river Thames
in a steamboat for New York. The banks of the
river were pretty, hut the stream was small. \Ye
made a short stay at New London, a smaller town
than Norwich, at the mouth of the river, but contain-
ing several large, as well as smaller vessels in its

478

NEW YORK.

port; and launched from it at midnight out into Long
Island Sound, the name of that branch of the Atlan-
tic, which, lying between Long Island and the conti-
nent of America, makes the inner passage for most
of its coasting vessels bound to New York,

By sunrise, on the morning of the 28 th of October
we were up in the narrow part of this passage, leading
through the rocky strait, called Hell Gate by the
ancient mariners, from the whirlpools, eddies, rocks
and dangers with which it abounds, like the Scvlla
and Charybdis of the ancients, in the Straits of Mes-
sina; but now softened down into the less offensive,
but at the same time less expressive name of Hurl
Gate, which conveys no idea of its nature or charac-
ter, though It conforms to the example of the polished
preacher described, I think, by Cowper, who

“ never mentioned Hell to ears polite.”

buitw '*'■«« ‘teamship on the stocks,

building for the Emperor of Russia, and again en

jojingthegayand animating, as well as spLdidlv
wUhtJ N '’T *1° '>y ‘■’i® channel,-!

ith the Navy Yard, Brooklyn, the Battery, Cover-

"on on th? ’ r “7’ “agnilicLt Hud-
fr TngTn! o‘l>cr.

Ciw wi n • ® «n wliich stands the

bnUdinl „ r"T°“i' '■'urch-spires, its public

§ ’ gigantic hotels, crowded thorouffhfares

at q A^M O 1 landed at the wharf

tin i f “>c Ante.

•he Broadly " Pa« »f

CHAP. XXXI.

Intended Journey through Mexico, and Voyage by the Pacific
to China — Reasons for the abandonment of this part of our
Expedition — Liberal remuneration of literary labours in Ame-
rica — Unfortunate investments in American Stocks — Bank-
ruptcy of them all — and consequent total loss — Return to
England in the Steam-ship President — Considerations as to the
probable cause of her subsequent wreck — Conclusion.

When we left England, in August, 1837, it was my
intention to devote three years to our Travels
through the United States of America and the
British Provinces, one year to a Journey through
Mexico, and one year to a Voyage from some port
near the Isthmus of Darien, either Panama or San
Bias, to the Sandwich Islands, and on to China,
visiting as many portions of that country as might
be accessible. From thence we proposed to proceed
to Calcutta, and ascending the Ganges, to have gone
up as high in the interior as Delhi, crossing from
thence by land to Bombay, and returning to Eng-
land, by the Red Sea, Egypt, and the Mediterranean,
all of which might have been easily accomplished in
the space of the five years which we had allotted to
the undertaking.

We had been fortunately spared to accomplish the
two first objects of our expedition, having visited

480

MEXICO AND CHINA.

the Northern, the Southern, the Eastern, and the
Western States of America, from the Bay of Fundv
to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the borders of the
Atlantic to beyond the Mississippi, as well as the
British Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick, from the Island of Mackinaw, near the
entrance of Lake Superior, to the Boundary Line
which separates New Brunswick from Maine. But
all our hopes of visiting Mexico and China were
crushed, by circumstances which had arisen since
our departure from home, and which were not then
anticipated. In Mexico, the war between the Mexi-
cans and Texans, and the civil commotions between
the different aspirants to power among the Mexicans
themselves, made it impossible to travel through
that country with any safety. Robberies and mur-
ders were events of almost every-day occurrence j
and neither life nor property were respected. At
the same time, China, which when we left England
was beginning to be more accessible to Europeans
than at any period within the last hundred years,
was now entirely closed to the English, from the
disgraceful war arising out of the seizure of contra-
band opium, brought in, in defiance of all laws and
edicts, by English smugglers, encouraged by the East
India Company, who grew and furnished the poison-
ous drug, and countenanced by the Queen’s repre-
sentative as a lawful and honest trade ! As affairs
in both these countries were likely to get more
embroiled, before they would be tranquillized, we
were compelled with great reluctance to forego our

purposed visit to both, and think of returnino' to
England. ®

GOOD AND ILL lORTUNE.

481

Another circumstance which rendered this addi-
tionally necessary, was a misfortune that we had little
expected. During our Tour through the United
States of America, the delivery of my Lectures had
been sufficiently rewarded, by the large audiences
that attended them, to enable me to defray all our
travelling and other expenses ; and to put by, at the
close of each year, a clear surplus of 1,000^. sterling;
the public spirit and munificence with which literary
labours of this description are remunerated in Ame-
rica being such, that I received, from the Young
Men’s Literary Society of Boston, an engagement on
their own invitation and offer of 2,500 dollars, or 500/.
sterling, for a single Course of Lectures on Egypt
and Palestine, and their receipts more than covered
the outlay ; — while at New York, Philadelphia, and
Charleston, the returns were on a still higher scale.
I had considered myself, therefore, most fortunate,
in the pecuniary result of my visit to the United
States, when the surplus sum of 8,000/. sterling,
earned by my literary labours alone, were safely
invested, as we supposed, in the stocks and funds of
the country, there to remain only till our embarka-
tion for Mexico, or our return to England, when
we purposed withdrawing them for remittance home.
For the sake of lessening the risk of loss, we had,
prudently as we then thought, divided the amount into
three portions of 1 ,000/. each ; determined to invest
them in three different descriptions of stock, and in
three different cities. Accordingly, 1,000/. was invested
in the Bonds of the Morris Canal Company in New
York ; 1,000/. in the Life and Trust Company of Balti-
more; and 1,000/. in the United States Bank of Phila-

482

HEAVY FINANCIAL LOSSES.

delphia, all then paying interest regularly in England
at the rates of 6, 7, and 8 per cent, and all in°such
reputation for stability, as to be at a high premium
in the market. On our reaching New York we
found that all three of these undertakings were
bankrupt ! and the stock of each not only paying no
interest, hut absolutely unsaleable, except at such a
ruinous depression as induced the ready adoption of
the advice of the best informed and most disinte-
rested, to hold on a little longer in the hope of a
revival. 1 his hope, however, grew more and more
faint, as time unfolded more and more of the reck-
lessness and dishonesty, by which these concerns
had become insolvent ; and thus the laboriously
acquired earnings of the three years, on which we
had counted for a welcome little resource for the
period when age and declining powers would make
labour less agreeable as well as less productive, were
all swept away at the same moment !

My losses in India, occasioned by the oppressive
conduct of the East India Company’s Government,
and the wanton destruction of all my property in
that country, as well as the disappointed hopes of
redress, first raised by the Whig Administration of
England, in the Resolutions passed by them in the
House of Commons, declaring me to be entitled to
Compensation, and their subsequently shrinking
rom the fulfilment of their pledges, when they had
the power in their own hands to redeem them, were

heavier ^

H,e„ "" I

health ^“*1 more buoyant with

> rength, and energy ; while there was yet

DEPARTURE FOR NEW YORK.

483

time before me, in which to hope at least for its
recovery. But this loss, though so much smaller
in amount, seemed the more depressing, because
approaching age lessened the probability of a recur-
rence of any chances to redeem it ; and because it
rendered impracticable, that part of our expedition,
for which a portion at least of these resources would
have been so useful.

Having determined, therefore, on our return to
England, we engaged our passage in the ill-fated
steamship. President, Captain Keane ; and left the
harbour of New York in her, with about 90 other pas-
sengers, on the 3rd of November. Our voyage was
unusually stormy, after the first day’s run, with a
heavy gale from the eastward ; and the engines of the
vessel were so deficient in power, as compared with
her great size — her burden being 2,400 tons, and her
power 850 horse only — (while the Cunard line of
steamers, from Liverpool to Halifax, have engines of
650 horse-power, to 800 tons only,) that there were
many periods of the day in which we did not make
a progress of more than three miles in the hour.
Indeed, having made about 150 miles in the first 24
hours, we were three other days in making the other
150 miles ; being only 300 miles distant from New
York on the 7th, when we had been four days out
of port.

At this period. Captain Keane summoned a
meeting of his passengers in the great saloon, and
communicated to us all the unexpected and disagree-
able intelligence that the chief engineer had just
reported to him that there were not coals enough on
board to take the President to England, even if the

2 I 2

484

RETURN TO PORT.

gale should cease immediately, and the wind become
fair. There were not indeed 14 days’ ordinary
supply of coal in the ship at present ; while at the
rate we had been proceeding (300 miles in 4 days)
it would take us just 40 days to accomplish the dis-
tance of 3,000 miles between New York and Liver-
pool. He thought it his duty, therefore, to return
immediately to New York, while the adverse gale
lasted, and he wished the passengers to know the
grounds of his proceeding, and to stamp the act with
their approbation.

This was of course very readily given, as the com-
mon safety of all rendered it imperative; but in the
document drawn up and signed by the passengers
for this purpose, a paragraph was inserted, expressing
the unqualified disapprobation of all the signers, of
the reckless and unjustifiable conduct of those whose
duty it was to have seen the requisite supply of fuel
placed on board before the ship left her port, as well
as of the fewness of the seamen constituting her
crew.

We accordingly bore up before the gale, and
reached New York on the morning of the 9th, to
the astonishment of all who saw us return. So
entirely satisfied, however, were all the passengers
— and they included several experienced shipbuilders
and nautical men — with the excellent qualities of
the President, as a sea-boat, her strength, buoyancy,
and easy motion, that not one of all the 90 passen-
gers left her to embark in any other packet, though
several were ready to sail about the same time, but
all re-embarked in high spirits, as soon as they were
assured of the full supply of coal being on board,

ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. 485

and at least 50 of the passengers now looked after
this matter themselves.

Our passage home was as favourable, as its com-
mencement had been unfortunate ; we had fair winds
and fine weather almost the whole of the way ; but
having been known to have left New York on the
3rd of November, and not arriving in England by
the 18th, public anxiety began to be manifested for
our safety ; and no one even conjecturing the cause
of the delay, all manner of false reports were spread,
some invented purposely, no doubt, by interested
parties, others magnified by fears of friends, till at
length, day after day increasing the excitement, and
the President not reaching Liverpool till the 28th
of November, — ten days after the regular time at
which she might have been fairly expected — the
feeling of joy was intense and widely spread at the
intelligence of her safety ; and every newspaper in
England assisted to communicate the tidings of her
arrival.

On the following voyage, the unfortunate Presi-
dent was lost ; having sailed from New York in her
ordinary course, and never since been heard of. A
variety of conjectures have been hazarded, as to the
manner in which her loss was occasioned ; and at
this late period, when the subject may be adverted to
without harrowing up the feelings of those who had
friends on board, or prolonging their painful suspense,
for all hopes of her ever re-appearing have now been
long ago extinguished, it may not be unacceptable to
have the opinion of one who knew her qualities well.
I venture, therefore, to offer it as my belief, that
under the skilful commander who was then in charge.

48G

FIRES AT SEA.

Captain Roberts, no gale which she could encounter
on her passage, would be sufficient to occasion her to
founder. Insufficient as her engines were to propel
her with the requisite degree of speed, they would
always have force enough to keep her head to wind-
ward jn the heaviest gale that blew; and in this
position, no pilot-boat that ever swam could lie-to
more easily and steadily than the President. As a
sea-boat she was unrivalled, and not the slightest
manifestation was anywhere visible on our homeward
voyage, in the severest period of the gale, of and
weakness amid-ships, or anywhere else. An iceber.^
may have intercepted her course, or a ship may have
lun her down_as all who have been much at sea,
know how frequent are the accidents resulting from
a bad look-out; and fire is a calamity to which all
ships are liable, especially those that carry a hundred
passengers or more, where drunken revels among
some, not sufficiently discouraged, because profit it
ade by the sale of the wines and spirits, great care-
lessness with otliers, lights permitted improperly to

theirTrV" at alate hoJr. Ld

their inmates going to sleep without extinguishincr

w£ I''" of all the materials o°f

rapTdRVi? ooniposed, making fire much more

Ze dit U "Od much

more difficult to extinguish.

stiwed tbp calamities may have de-

^ y unfortunate President ; and either would

the dbneMlblfS carried drunk from

York in ti,e PresidenT^

excess. ’ and every day some of them drank to

TEMPERANCE AT SEA.

487

account for the total destruction of every vestige of
her hull, as well as of her spars, boats, and moveable
furniture, but especially the last, for the devouring
flames leave no vestige of anything unconsumed,
and when all is burnt to the water’s edge, the heavy
and ponderous mass below soon sinks to the bottom.
This, though the most terrible, is the most speedy
death, and leaves at least the consolation that if the
sufferings of the victims were severe, they were soon
terminated.

A greatly improved system of discipline is no
doubt gradually gaining ground in all ships carrying
passengers ; hut, considering how many lives may be
sacrificed by the carelessness or helplessness of one
individual, and how many dissipated and thoughtless
young men there are who cross the Atlantic in these
steamers, it would certainly be a wise regulation to limit
the use of wine or spirits to each individual; better still
to abolish their use at sea altogether, as even when no
great danger happens, they produce a variety of minor
evils, and the substitutes of tea, coffee, chocolate, and
other wholesome and agreeable beverages, are now
admitted by the most experienced naval com-
manders to be better for the health and comfort of
passengers, officers, and crew, than wine and spirits
in any quantities whatever. T.he greater safety of
sailing without any supplies of these on board, is
acknowledged by the fact, that in the sea-ports of
America, the Marine Insurance Offices deduct five
per cent, from the premium paid by ships sailing
without them ; and at the same time make larger
dividends from the decreased number of losses in
ships of that class ; and it is to be hoped that before

488

CONCLUSION.

long, similar Marine Temperance Insurance Offices
will be established in Ejigland also.

In thus bringing to a conclusion the Narrative of
my Journeys over the North American continent,
which occupied us so agreeably to perform, and
which it has been scarcely less pleasurable to review
and record, I beg to thank ail those who have
travelled with me thus far to the end ;-to assure
them that the only reason why the details have been
^ minute and ample, was a desire to make my
Descriptions as full and complete, as I wished them
to be accurate and impartial to hope that the senti-
ments I have ventured to interweave with my Nar-
rative on the subjects of Education, Temperance,
Colonization, and Peace, will not be regarded as a
presumptuous endeavour to intrude topics irrelevant
to the subject,- but as springing from a sincere and
earnest conviction in my own mind, of their import-
ance to the welfare of mankind and to indulge the
pleasing anticipation that the day is not very remote
when these topics will engage the minds of the
highest and noblest in the land, and abundantly
reward them m the triumphs which they will achieve
tor the national happiness.

489

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

Since the preceding sheets were printed off, the an-
ticipated discussion on the subject of National Colo-
nization has taken place in the House of Commons ;
and I am unwilling to let this Volume go forth to
the world, without availing myself of the opportunity
to say a few words on this subject, especially as there
have been misrepresentations made, which it is im-
portant to correct.

Mr. Charles Buller cannot be too highly praised
for the able, luminous, and comprehensive speech,
with which he introduced the question of National
Colonization to the House. The only thing to be
regretted in it was, that though maintaining the
general principle, and showing its abstract justice
and necessity, he did not propose some specific plan
by which his views could be carried out into practice.
Rut it appears to be the fashion of the day, to express
implicit confidence in the Executive Government,
and to yield up to them so entirely the uncontrolled
regulation of the affairs of the kingdom, that the
chief function of the House of Commons, as a con-
trolling body, seems to be in abeyance ; so that

490

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

motions of the greatest importance, after having been
introduced by most elaborate and able speeches are
one after another successively either abandoned or
ithdrawn; of which Lord Palmerston’s motion on
the American Treaty, Lord Ashley’s on the Trnffl
in Opium, and Mr. Puller’s on National Co W
tion, are striking examples.

^ If Mr. Puller’s masterly introduction of the sub
ject deserves the highest commendation, it is difficult
to find adequate terms, in which to expl-ess thT2
rowness of view, and pettiness of detail, with which
It was niet by Lord Stanley ; and in referlnle To the
fhTn National Colonization detailed in

to Pages~a copy of which had been sent

omitted to state (hit n' Bat he

wasteland o, th; clltas ^iU

i«/parrof ?hc other words, form-

thf power of thc*^?* "Phonal domain j it is within
enact, alter or a Legislature to repeal,

the sale or grant rfh ’ '’oS^olations affecting
grant seh t ) " “^“ch as it is to

?n England or eL? ^™ds

has, fiC time lo m d "
fit, and might if itL rh changes as it saw

might deem proper

P oper. On this subject, I quote one of

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

491

the most I'eceiit authorities. Lord Durham’s Report,
as thus abridged by Mr. Maculloch —

“ Since the province of Canada came under the British govern-
ment, the plans under which land has been granted and sold have
differed very widely at different periods ; but have very rarely
indeed been established on sound principles. Tlie township-lands
have been granted in many modes, differing in character and
object ; at first they were granted to settlers in free and common
soccage, with a reservation to resume all, or any part, if required
for military purposes, but subject to no other conditions ; the
quantity so granted to each individual being limited to 100 acres
for himself, and 50 acres additional for each member of his family ;
the governor having authority to increase this to 1,000 acres.
These favourable terms were meant to attract settlers fron^the
Colonies which now form the United States. This was in 1<63.

"‘In 1775 this arrangement was superseded, and the Quebec
Act of the preceding year having restored the French code and
lancTuage, corresponding instructions were given, future grants
should again be made in fief and seigniory, and three seigniories
were thus created.

“ In 1791 the regulations of 1763 were revived, though with
certain conditions annexed to them, which, in practice, were
avoided ; and tins mode continued till 1826. But the constitu-
tional Act of 1791 also enacted, that « reserve for the support of
a Protesta 7 it clergy should be made, in respect of every pnt
eaual in value, as near as could be estimated, to one-seventh part
of the land granted. The Crown reserves, to a like extent, ori-
ginated in the view of supplying, first by sales, and ultimately by
Lits, an independent source of revenue ; and obviating he
necessity of taxes, and consequently of such disputes as had led
u, ,l,e W.pe»d.„ce of .he Uoited S.a.e.. Th... re.TO how.

L, h..e proewi mo,, se.i.u. ob.mcl,.

Colony which the misconstruction or violation of the Act has
aiavated, by increasing their extent beyond what appears to
\£e been contemplated.”-/.ord Durham s Deport, App. B,

pp. 6, 7.

492

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

This will be considered sufficient proof that tho
property in the waste lands of the Colonies is entirelv
und«- the eonlrol of the Imperial Parliament, by
which the different changes here described. 4ere
ordered and made. But subsequently to that period
other Acts have been passed. From 1800 to^isii’
gmnts were made in lots of SOO acres to actual
settlers iron, 1814, grants were made on -quea “
tickets,” requiring the erection of a house and h!

clearing and cultivating four acres, before’ the title
was perfected. In 1826, the mode of sellil L
auction a a minimum price was adopted, thepurclai
money being paid by four annual instalmel^r t
1831 the payment was ordered to be by half-vearlv
instalments ; and in 1837, the purchase money wil
ordered to be paid at the time of sale. And Tasr
an Act of the Impe,-ial Legislature authortenhe

S «*"es, at «ie rlt

Ot 100,000 acres annually.*

Again, in speaking of the tenures of land in
Upper Canada, and adverting to the grants to L\

and to public Lmpanie. ^

pany is named, as well as the PI ^

Maculloch says— ^ ^ reserves, Mr,

had no intention of settliiiir on tlf

extent of the clergy and statp eoupled witli the great

influence over the Colony and^r*'^*’ ^ injurious

a>aterially retarded its pro-

^^^Macullochs Geographical Dictionary-1841, vol. i. pp.5]7*

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

493

gress. Lord Durham ascribes the backward state of Canada, as
compared with the United States, mainly to the influence of the
circumstance now glanced at.”*

Lastly, so recently as the 23rd of July, 1840, the
date of the last great Act for uniting the two Pro-
vinces of Canada into one, and constructing the new
form of government for the United Province, the
42d clause of such Act expressly reserves to Her
Majesty the prerogative of disposing of the waste
lands ~qf the colony, and forbids the introduction of
any bill that shall touch or affect the same, in the
Local Legislature, without previously ascertaining
Her Majesty’s assent, the provision of the clause
being in substance this —

‘‘ That whenever any bill shall be passed by the Legislative
Council and Assembly of the Province of Canada that shall in
any manner relate to or affect Her Majesty’s prerogative, touch-
ing the granting of waste lands of the Crown, within the said
Province, every such bill shall be laid before both Houses of
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
and Her Majesty shall not give her assent to such bills, until
thirty days from their being so laid before Parliament, nor even
then in case either House of Parliament shall within that space
of time address Her Majesty to withhold her assent. And no
such bill shall be valid within the Province of Canada, unless
such bill shall first be transmitted to England, for the purpose
of being laid before Parliament previously to the signification of
Her Majesty’s assent thereto.”

Surely nothing can be plainer or more authorita-
tive than this, to prove that the property of the
waste lands of the Colony is still in the Crown of
England; that they form part of the National

• Maculloch’s Geographical Dictionary, vol. i. p. 520.

494

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

Domain j and that the Parliament of Great Britain
has the sole power to control the disposal of these
lands, in any way in which the two Houses of the
Imperial Legislature and Her Majesty may see fit
If Lord Stanley did not know this, then he' is fairly
chargeable with ignorance of what it was his espe-
cial duty as Colonial Minister to know. If he did
^ow this, and withheld the avowal of it from the
House, when he asserted that the Parliament of this
country could not dispose of a single acre of the
waste ands of Canada, as this was solely under the
control of the local Legislature, then he is chargeable
with want of candour ax\d fairness, and in either
case, the use which he made of his influence and
position in the House to impute ignorance to another
was neither just nor gentlemanly. His Lordship
might have recollected some recent instances of his
own mistakes, in the matter of “ TambofF,” and
other cases, which should have made him lenient
towards he errors of others, if he really supposed

rid- K attempt to cover another with

ridicule, as being grossly ignorant of that which he

IJS preceding

xtracts show, the ignorance or want of candour was

tlfb " to the many

rDuhli?'? p™'i«

the mom apparent triumph for

the moment by any statement which may suit the

STatl^r « ‘"e fii,: S 0

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

495

be unacquainted with the fact, that the sale or dis-
posal of the waste lands of the Crown, has been
placed under stringent regulations and restraints ;
and that, at present, such sale or disposal is vested in
the Local Legislatures or Governments of the respec-
tive Provinces, while the proceeds resulting from the
same, form a portion of the Colonial revenue. But
inasmuch as the whole of the National Domain, of
which these lands are a part, as well as the entire
affairs of the Colonies, are under the control of the
Imperial Legislature, it is undeniable that the Par-
liament of England has the power to repeal any
existing acts on this subject, to enact new ones, or
to revive old ones, as it may deem best. And as it
so recently exercised its power to suspend the whole
functions of Government in Canada, to unite the
two Provinces against the will of a large majority of
the people, to put down the Colonial Legislature,
and place the whole country under a Supreme Dicta-
tor, and subsequently to enact the construction of an
entirely new form of government, it is absurd to the
last degree to contend that it has not the power, if
it chooses to exercise it, of altering the tenures of
land, and taking the whole administration of its
grants into its own hands.*

But there would be no need even of this. For,

* Mr. Charles Duller has given notice of a motion after Easter,
to introduce some measure for altering the tenure and mode of
granting Crown Lands in the Colonies. But the very fact of
such a proposition being received in the British House of Com-
mons, is sufficient proof that the real and ultimate control and
authority over these lands is in the Imperial Parliament— what-
ever my Lord Stanley may say to the contrary.

496

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER,

if any system of free grants were determined on
nothing would be more easy than to induce the local
governments to make them, or to prevail on the
Local Legislature to pass acts for that purpose if
such a form were necessary ; because it is even still
more the interest of the Colonies to encourao-e such
settlement of an industrious, skilful, and produc
tive population, than it is of the mother-country to
relieve herself of her surplus numbers. With us
Emigration affords a relief from burdens merely’
with the Colonies, Immigration lays the foundation
of future wealth, strength, and greatness. The
interest of the Colonies is therefore even greater
than that of the mother-country, in offerin<r such
inducements as free grants to settlers of the descrin-
tion named ; and, therefore, whether the act or acts
for this purpose be passed in the Imperial or Local
Legislatures, the result will be the same. It is mere
captiousness to object to what is matter of form if
the principle of Colonization be admitted to be’ a
sound one; for in that case, matters of detail can

t"‘‘ f“"'“ “‘“'’O' “‘I

sate effected by the Local Legislature, as well as by

?a 1? t ^ Wopriated to the local revenue

th^ settlers, would make all
So also, of the questions of previous surveying, and

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER,

197

the subsequent formation of roads, of the concentra-
tion of settlers, rather than their dispersion, and of
the raising, by rateable assessments on the area or
value of estates, when circumstances might require
it for local improvements in the several districts in
which they may be situated — all these are matters of
detail, which may be safely left to the local govern-
ments, and which in no way whatever affect the
soundness or unsoundness of the general principle of
Colonization at the national expense.

As to the visionary ” and impracticable nature
of that part of the Plan which proposes grants to
individuals on certain specified conditions — for this
also is alleged — we have seen that in 1814, such
grants were actually made on “ location tickets,” to
local settlers, to the extent of 200 acres to each
settler, requiring the erection of a house, and the
clearing and cultivating four acres before the title
was perfected,” so that it is neither so visionary nor
so impracticable, as is supposed. And Mr. Maculloch,
who is not generally considered Utopian in his views,
expressly says —

“ The plan of sellhig land, in any Colon}^, and especially one
in the situation of Canada, seems highly objectionable. The
preferable plan would be to tnake grants of land to all settlers,
on a uniform system, in proportion to their available capital, witli
a limitation of the maximum quantity to be assigned to any
individual ; and making it a condition of all grants, that they
should be forfeited in a given time, unless certain specified im-
provements were effected upon them within that time.

This is the very principle that I have ventured to
propose, and I am glad to he sustained in its pro-

* Geographical Dictionary, vol. i. p. 520.

2 K

498

SUPPLEMENTAItY CHAPTEU.

position by so safe and cautious an authority, of
which I was not before aware, till this imputation
of “visionary and impracticable,” which Lord Stan-
ley has chosen to affix to my Plan, led me to look a
little into other authorities, to see what were the
opinions of other men as to the tenures of land in
the Colonies, and the practicability as well as expe-
diency of placing them on a more liberal footing.

The passage which his Lordship read in the
House of Commons, and by which he succeeded as
much by his manner probably as by the matter itself
in exciting “much laughter,” was that which relates
to the supply of materials for stocking farms, in
cattle, seed, implements, &c., recommended to be
furnished or collected by the Government, placed in
central depots in each Province, and to be supplied to
the settlers on terms of credit agreed on. It is no
doubt a novel idea to have a Commissariat for an
Ai m) of Peace ; and as men of weak or prej udiced intel-
lects find It much easier to pronounce any new pro-
position to be “ visionary and impracticable,” than
to undertake the trouble of inquiring into and under-
standing it_so in this instance, the laughter was
probably excited by what they were unable to com-
prehend But as the War Office has an organized

h^r^^pT ^ depots of ordnance, supplies of

hor.es, arms, ammunition, stores, clothino-, provi-
sions and implements of destruction, can“be^ fur-

CM fin? the Admiralty
plies to thrc"" to convey similar sup^

Wales as Hope and New South

sidps for 111; Government can fit out

P polar expeditions, and land-journeys for

SUPPLr.MKXTARV CHAPTER.

49.0

geographical discovery, and, by aid of funds and
agents, convey whatever is needful to any point at
which it may be required, — surely a “Colonization
Office ” could effect just as perfect an organization
for the supply of all that might be required for
stocking and cultivating farms in the Colonies, as
the “War Office” can do for its particular pur-
poses.

The irrationality is on the part of those who con-
sent to the lavish expenditure of millions for the
destruction of their fellow-men, and who resist the
more moderate expenditure asked, to lift up their
suffering countrymen from the depths of suffering
and misery, and place them in a condition of com-
petency and comfort.

A day will come when our posterity will look hack
upon the follies we commit as a nation in this re-
spect, with feelings of astonishment and pity ; when
the homage paid to warriors, and the sums lavished
in war, contrasted with the resistance to all projects
of benevolence and peace, will be regarded as proofs
of an irrationality, not to say insanity, for which,
when examining our boasted progress in civilization,
they will be utterly unable to account.

Another objection urged is this : that the labour-
market is overstocked ; and Lord Stanley declares
that he had had several communications, from New
Brunswick especially, urging him to use his influence
to restrain the current of emigration to that quarter.
But this is the effect of one of the prominent errors
of the existing system, which confines Emigration
chiefly to labourers only. No doubt, if a large body
of men were to go out in expectation of being eni-

2 K 2

500

Sl’rPLDMFNTARY CIIAPTF.R.

ployed by others when they arrived there, they would
be disappointed. But, give to those who go out,
gi-ants of either 20, or 50, or 100 acres, and they
will not need to seek employment anywhere but on
their own lands. And in this way, occupation is as
easily found for a million as for a hundred, if each
has an assignment of land on which to labour ; while
purchasers of larger tracts, from 500 to l,OOo' acres,
might carry labourers with them, or engage them'
for limited periods in the country, if any'’ surplus
hands could then be found.

An example is, with many, more powerful than
an argument ; and for the satisfaction of those who
entertain any doubt of the extent to which individuals
might speedily improve their condition, the followino-
case may be stated, from M ‘Gregor’s British Ame!
rica, as cited by Butler, in his excellent little Work,
entitled “ 'J’he Emigrant’s Hand Book of Facts • ’’
It is this—

“ On coming down the south-west branch of the Miramiclii, in
ti.e autumn of 1828, 1 was astonisi.ed at tl,e unexpected progress
made during so short a period in tlie cultivation of the soil. Near
■w lere the road parts off for Fredericton, an American, possessing
a full share of the adventurous activity of the citizens of the
United States, has established himself. He told me that when
he planted hiiuself there, seven years before, he was not worth a
II mg. e has now (1829) more than 300 acres of land under
cultivation an immense flock of slieep, horses, several yokes of
oxen, milch cows swine, and poultry. He has a large dwelling-
house conveniently furnished, in which he lives with his family,
and a numerous tram of labourers ; one or two other houses \
forge with a powerful trip-hammer, worked by water power

double purpose of a school and chapel, the floor of which

I was

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

501

laid, and on which benches were arranged, so as to resemble the
pits of one of our theatres. He said that all preachers who came
that way were welcome to the use of it, and should each get some-
thing to eat at his house, and have the use of the chapel, with
equal satisfaction to him. He then shewed me his barn, and in
one place a heap, containing about 90 bushels of Indian corn>
that grew on a spot — scarcely an acre — which he pointed out to
me. This man could do little more than read and write. He
raised large crops, ground his own corn, manufactured the flax he
cultivated, and the wool of his sheep into coarse cloths, and sold
the provisions which his farm produced. He talked much in
praise of the rich interior country, and how rapidly it would
be settled and cultivated, if possessed by the Americans.” —
pp. 37, 38.

Why then should not this rich and fertile country
be speedily filled up by the subjects of the nation to
whom the Colony belongs ? No other reason can be
given for this not being already the case, except the
fact, that those who are well off at home, are
unwilling to emigrate as long as they can possibly
remain in their native land ; and those who are so
embarrassed at home, as to look to emigration as a
relief from their difficulties, are unable to emigrate,
and equally unable to purchase lands, should they
expend their little all on their passage out. It is
for this reason that the aid of government is required,
to present inducements, to tempt those who have a
little capital, and to assist those who have none, by
giving to both a free passage at the public expense,
and granting to them certain portions of free lands,
as a nucleus, from which they are to rise from com-
pe fence to wealth.

The question of whether a million of persons
could be induced to emigrate in any one year, or only

502

SUPPLE^rENTARY CHAPTER.

a hundred thousand, or whether the cost of their con
vp^ance should be one million or five, is mere matter
ot detail or degree, and docs not affect the general
principle at all. This is certain, however, that if
the mother-country contains at present a much larcrer
amount of population tlian can be profitably employed
and adequately fed, -and Dr. MarshL, ht
speech at the Buckinghamshire Agricultural DinneT
alleged that there were 5,000,000 of our people who
were reduced to subsist on oatmeal, and 5,000,000 on
potatoes, to say nothing of the substitution of sea
weed when these failed,-_and if, in addition to our'

^30^000 a? '"«r«ases at the rate

t 300,000 a jear, it is plain that nothing short of a

nlhon could afford any great relief; for SOO 000
migrating annually would barely take off ’ the
annual increase, and leave our 5 000 000 nf f

tTey 'are""^ where'

recommended ao a subslitulo. Bat be “

Soolr„rZilXd°'"e‘'* 7-^““

linrt ^ 1 -neiancl, the real quantity of waste

land covered with a fertile <tniJ

indeed. Were such trani * msjgnificant

who ta?e ^«-bTlu^t"raL7ultt

readiness of their o/ners to tt th V^^

which sufficient profit Sit b

o»t be made to pay a rental,

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

503

and provide subsistence besides ? The bare fact of
such lands lying waste and unoccupied, is sufficient
proof of the general opinion of the unprofitableness
of tilling them. But the lands in our Colonies,
which it is in the power of our Government to grant,
are fertile in the highest degree. Mr. Butler, in
the Work already quoted, says—

“ So great is the fertility of the soil in Canada, that 50 bushels
of wheat per acre are frequently produced, on a farm where the
stumps of trees, which probably occupy an eighth of the surface,
have not been eradicated ; some instances of 60 bushels an acre
occur, and near York, in Upper Canada, 100 bushels of wheat
have been obtained from a single acre.* In some districts wheat
has been raised successively on the same ground for 20 years
without manure.” — p. 6.

To suffer, therefore, such mines of wealth, as our
Colonies possess, to remain undeveloped for a single
year, while we have a surplus population burdening
the resources of our own country, and the whole com-
munity gradually sinking beneath the weight, is a
^vitmo'ncrainst society, and a sin against the law of the

♦ This, no doubt, must c
average produce of the whe
40 bushels,— extreme cases
per acre ; but if that of Ca
both.

STIPPLEJIKNTAKY CIIAPTEK.

501 .

any amount of parochial or charitable relief given at
home and at a much cheaper cost ; with this essen-
idl difference, that the cost of home-support is everv
year increasing, and the millions receiving it ar‘e
every year growing more miserable and more demo-
lahzed ; while the cost of annual Colonization would
be every year diminishing, from the growing percep-
tion of the benefits of removing to fertile lani, and
the increasing tendency and disposition to persons in
the midd e and upper ranks, to go forth at dieir own
expense, to establish their families and aufrment their
fortune, the Colonies of the Empire ; tCp^d.
mg out language, literatnrc, institutions, and reLion
over count™, now forming an untrodd™ wilderness'
and spreading civilization and happiness, where bar
barism or solitude now hold alternate swav.

On tins subject, one of the most profound scholars

dlri'tf to h”'”; Pki'^ophy giving

civilization of the whnl« i ^ ^ aceable colonization — the
these peaceful means of advancLenT--irtr

bounded. And thu^lm^ t ‘h : mTf:!;:;'"

vances of men in civilizatinn • ^ ^ ^ empires, the ad-

Perpetuated and secured.”* ’ ^ •multitudinous forms, is

The next objection made to the Han is the vast
* Hccrcn’s Researches, v„]. jj. j,. 23, 2L

SUPPLEMENTAKY CIIAPTEU.

505

expense it would incur in the free conveyance of the
settlers ; — 5,000,000/. sterling is thought to be a
monstrous outlay for the transfer of a million of
people ; — and a million of people is thought an extra-
vagant number to think of removing at once.

Men’s notions of what is trifling or what is vast in
national expenditure, vary very much, it is admitted.
For instance. Lord Stanley thought the sum of 20
millions not an exti^avagant one to pay for the release
of much less than one million of negroes from slavery.
Surely five millions might as easily be spared to relievo
a million of white people, some of them suffering far
greater privations than many of these negroes did in
the midst of their bondage. From the payment of the
20 millions for negro emancipation, the only pecuniary
benefit which England has derived, is the liability
to a yearly tax of nearly a million sterling for the
interest of the sum in question, for ever. But with
an equal degree of moral benefit which the transfer
of a million of our population to circumstances of
comfort in the Colonies would produce, we should
have the additional benefit of a pecuniary relief, in
our parochial burdens and charitable contiibutions
at home, of at least ten millions sterling ; while the
masses of labourers left behind would be benefited
by the removal of competitors in the price of theii
labour ^ and the million of settlers established in our
Colonies would soon become valuable customers to
England in every branch of trade. The expense,
therefore, even of five millions, if it should cost so
much, to effect this object, would be “trifling,”
when compared with the magnitude of the good to
be obtained.

S06

SUPPLEJIENTARY CHAPTER.

Trom the manner in which these propositions
have been received, one would have thou^^ht that it
was something unprecedented and unheard of to

aboTIirJ?"''"" Emigration, ^.d,

above all, to propose a grant of public money

it into effect. But in^the
years 1826 and 1827. two Select Committees of the
House of Commons reported it as their opinion, that
Emigration ought to be promoted and assist d bv
6ie Government; and that our North American
Colonies were peculiarly eligible for the purpose of

*he late

enaigration, under the dLctio„“L,!a;roLd“'

urgeTrrti

saSs po;ul fo„'^T„^^ '-‘" a

kurgh lLfc,v, Z'. 8<f ,? of ‘ke Edin-

Foba'bV cos” tTt’ril ™de ”e

their romestehrLt “w to S “‘“Z' ‘i "® 1™

fo^eth7„”d:' S'"* T/™"" "“-h^trovrm

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

507

siderable as this sum is, we have no hesitation in
saying, that if it were twice as great, it would be
well and advantageously laid out in securing the
object in view.” — p. 66. And further on, the same
writer, (said to he the present Lord Jeffrey), repu-
diates, on just grounds, all propositions for having
the expense defrayed by loans on the Colonial lands,
by appropriation of poor’s rates, or by any system of
repayments from the emigrants themselves; and
contends “ that public provision should be made for
discharging at once and for ever, the entire expense
of the emigration.” — p. 70 .

Now, the deliberate Report of the Committee of
the House of Commons, and the articles written on
it in the two leading organs of public opinion named,
were published 15 or 16 years ago, since which the
population of the country has increased five millions
at least ; and if it were thought rational and prac-
ticable to expend fourteen, or if necessary twenty-
eight millions, for the convevance and settlement of
a million of persons from Ireland only, at that time,
the rationality and practicability of my own pro.
position, to expend five millions on the same object,
and for the same number of individuals, now, must
be apparent to all but those who will judge without
examination, and who raise a laugh, or indulge a
sneer, in order to cover their own ignorance.

In cases in which neither moral nor pecuniary
benefit is to result from our expenditure, we think
nothing of lavishing 20 millions on such a war as
that of Aflghanistan and China — the first to force an
unwelcome monarch on an unoffending people, the
second, to force a poisonous drug on an unoffending

508

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

nation. Hero, all is loss as well as disifrace ■_fo,- it,
ransom so sbamefull,. exacted from the cliinese '
the sprat of the Buccaneers of old-and the troSd
of the Somnauth gates, and the smoking ruins of
burning villages and bazaars, in the sniVit
most vindictive ages— will but poorly repav the cn'i
of our achievements. And yet to^ milJ
national loss incurred bv tbJo ^ i , ° the

wastofa, expenSt^ wtx o/fil^T
annually has been levied, and borne with a sriritT'

Surely an expenditure of five millions for P.l

tax of live millions on our shoulder s ?

we are ^ time when

stagnation of trade and aWt'****™ “V*"' S®"™'

Kobert Peel “ On the i ® *“

means of removhe the rusefrf

published witbin’the presenf c‘r

regarded as visionary t T

both belong to what is calloft
of men, namely politionl "Matter-of-fact class

remedy of Systematic p f^®“®”'®*'®~"rges the same
the same To7 to recommends

convey ,be se.ttf LrT.i:

expense, that I have venturo I
a loan of m millions on the ^ proposes

oover the expense of the uLertakW

1 ^^Kmg. I recommend

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

.'>09

the appropriation of five millions out of the public
treasury, without a loan, for the same purpose — the
difference is not material. But the passage in which
Colonel Torrens sums up the general statement
of the case is worth giving entire. It is as follows —

‘‘ A further observation appears necessary, in reference to the
objection, that Systematic Colonization cannot be reproductive
and self-supporting, and must be conducted at the expense of the
capital of the mother-country. Our powers of production have
outgrown the field of employment. Millions of capital are
locked up, waiting for advantageous investment ; other millions
flow off into worthless foreign securities, and are lost ; while one
portion of our able-bodied population work at short time, and
while another portion, unable to get work at all, are supported
out of rates levied on the industry of others. Systematic Coloni-
zation removes the plethora, and imparts to the system renewed
vitality. While it reproduces its own expenditure, with a large
increase, it retains the accumulating wealth, which would oti er-
wise flow off ; it invests in secure production the capital which
would otherwise be lost ; it gives full and regular work to the
partially employed ; and it enables those whose subsistence was
Substracted from the earnings of others, to create for themselves
independent support. While self-supporting, in the same sense
in which agriculture is seif-supporting. Systematic Colonization,
by giving full employment to capital and labour, by raising
profits and wages, and by relieving industry from the charge
of supporting able-bodied destitution, augments the disposable
wealth applicable to the purchase of colonial wastes, and thus
perennially creates the means of its own accelerating progress.
Wliile unappropriated wastes remain at the disposal of the crown,
no limits to this progress can be assigned. If the advance which
is employed in planting a thousand souls in a new country, can
be replaced by means of the value thereby conferred upon the
wastes, it can be re-emplo 3 ^ed in planting another thousand. If
the reproductive principle be applicable to the planting of 1,000,
it will be found equally applicable to the planting of 100,000—
to the planting of 1,000,000. If self-supporting Colonization

510

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

can be carried on in one colony, it may be carried on throughout
every foreign dependency of the crown containing unappropriated
wastes, and possessing a climate to which European labour mav
be safely conveyed. The means of bridging the ocean, of givi„„
virtual extension to England, and of thus creating the circum-
stances under which the causes of distress would disappear are
placed in our hands. Our colonial wastes are mines of gold-
millions of treasure slumber in our unappropriated lands.”— p. 9i .

Yet, Mr. Maculloch’s recommendation, of grantino-
or giving the public lands in proportion to the avaif-
able capital of actual settlers, instead of sellino- them
as at present— Colonel Torrens’ proposition oflbridir
mg the ocean with our ships of war, for the free
conveyance of settlers at the public expense-and my
own for doing both, as more effective than either
separately or alone,-are all equally unwelcome to
those who see in every innovation the germ of some
great change, which they continually dread, and thus
1 eject, not so much from the objection to the thinir
proposed, as the fear of the consequences to which
1 may ea , m abridging their own power, or privi-
leges, or inHuence, and by making the humbler
classes more elevated, as well as more happy, lessen-
mg the distinction between their present high posi-
tion and that of others below them. ^

The only solution that can be offered, of this re-
istance on the part of the ruling powers of England

tb‘ extensive Colonization proposed is

this-that they find the Colonies, under their p Len
management, most convenient sources of patrrna"e
and power, in providing occupation and fo^-tune for

wolllT friends ; which sourct

filletfwfth Tn the Colonies became

h an intelligent, wealthy, and free population

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

511

— and this they do not desire to hasten. On the
other hand, the reason why they offer so little resist-
ance to schemes of war and conquest, and why 20
millions are more easily granted for this than five
millions for objects of benevolence and peace, is,
that in the former also there is a wide field open for
the exercise of power and patronage, with gifts of
honour as well as profit to scatter among relatives, kin-
dred, and friends, of the order to which they belong.

All these may be intelligible reasons why the
higher orders of the country should patronize
schemes of conquest and plunder, and oppose those
of free trade and colonization ; and that portion of
the press (unhappily a large one) which panders to
their interests and prejudices, will support them in
their views. But that the mass of the British
public should see one proposition after another for
the benefit of the country rejected, and remain mute,
is a melancholy symptom either of the decay of
public spirit, or the apathy of despair. Lord Ashley’s
bill to improve the condition of women and children
in mines Mr. Villiers’ motions for free trade ; Mr.
Roebuck’s for inquiry into the policy of the AfF-
ghan war; Mr. Hume’s for the retrenchment of public
expenditure ; Lord Ashley’s for the suppression of
the traffic in opium; Lord Monteagle’s for a com-
mittee of inquiry as to the effect of the corn-laws ;
Mr. Ward’s for ascertaining the burden on lands ;
and Mr. Buller’s for a System of National Colo-
nization-all are rejected, or so opposed as to cause
them to be withdrawn ; and yet the people remain
as tranquil and unruffled, as if they were without
feeling or without hope !

.- 51^2

SlIPPLKMENTARY CHAPTER.

In the mean time, the trade of the country goes
on declining, by the continual falling off in our
foreign commerce, and the consequent stoppatre of
all the wheels of industry, which that commerce kept
in motion in our manufacturing districts, and by the
laying up to rot and perish of the ships formerly
employed in conveying the products of our forges,
mills, and looms to other lands. The profit on
every branch of business is continually diminishing,
by the increasing competition and narrowed limits
witbin which this is exercised. The revenue on all
articles of consumption is lessening, and the home
trade, in agriculture and cattle, as well as manufac-
tures, is also declining, from the restricted means of
the labouring classes, and their inability to purchase.

1 he only things that are increasing are population,
at the rate of 300,000 a year ; poor’s-rates from 2s.
to 10s. in the pound, and in some places 15s., in
one 17s. 6d., the increase in the single town of Shef-
field being from 9,0004 a year in 1837, to 52,000/.
a year in 1843, with its trade nearly annihilated,*
and Its active and intelligent population laid pros-
0-ate for want of employment ; and an income tax of
nve imllions a year to crown the whole !

If this be a state of things that can be looked on
with indifierence, or if this be a period in which
propositions for national relief— conceived in an
earnest desire to lessen human suffering, and put
orward in terms of moderation, can be received in
^e senate of the country with laughter and derision
we , indeed, may we apprehend that some great

al dX, population,

' ngland has seen the zenith of her oreat-

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

513

ness as a nation. Unless the people of England can
be roused to a sense of the impending dangers
which now hang over their heads, in the combined
influences of decreasing trade, declining profits, and
lessening consumption — with increasing population,
increasing poor’s-rates, and increasing taxation — their
rulers will do nothing. They are all men of large
fortunes, and will be the last to feel the weight of
any public calamity that may befall the nation. But
though, for the present, the pressure is chiefly on the
poor, it will soon reach the middle classes, and from
them as gradually ascend to those next in order
above them. The Chinese — ^barbarians as we deem
them — have a proverb, which displays some know-
ledge of human affairs, and by which we might
profit. It is this — “ He that is indifferent to an
evil a hundred miles off, will soon find it under his
own table.”

POSTSCRIPT.

Proofs of Lord Stanley’s ignorance of what it is his
especial duty to know, and of his not being so true
an oracle on Colonial matters, as his manner of
giving his dicta on these subjects from the Treasury
benches would seem to assume, flow in wdth such
rapidity, that it is not easy to keep pace with them.
But a single example will serve to show what is
thought of his Lordship’s profound and accurate
knowledge on the relation between the demand and
supply of labour in our Colonies, on which he spoke
so confidently in a former debate on the same sub-
ject, as well as in the recent one on Mr. Puller’s
motion. The editor of the Colonial Gazette, pub-
lished in London, since this last debate, has shown
that Lord Stanley was either ignorant of, or pur-
posely suppressed, the fact, that the plan of sellino-
lands m the Australian Colonies, and applying the
proceeds to the conveyance of labourers, had been
suspended for two years past I and that a system
which he described as now in sufficiently active oper-
ation to render any interference with its excellent
working wholly unnecessary, had not been workino-
at all for two years of time ! And the Sydne^

ad,erl, to a former debate on the same subject, and

2 L

POSTSCltlPT.

515

which has been forwarded to me by a friend, has this
remarkable article, which I give in the editor’s own
words —

“ Lord Stanley’s speech in the House of Commons, wherein he
states that this Colony is at present over supplied with labour, is
another of the very glaring instances of ignorance of our circum-
stances, which so often characterizes the Secretary of State for
the Colonies. It is, therefore, with great satisfaction that we
see his Lordship’s statement placed in the strong light of contrast
with Mr. Macarthur s practical information, and so clearly con-
futed in one of the last week’s numbers of the Herald. From
what source his Lordship received the intelligence with which he
favoured and astonished the House it would be difficult to guess,
as it will be remembered that just about the time that tlie des-
patches which he would have last received from hence were
written, the outcry for labour to supply the deficiency occasioned
by the cessation of convict assignment was at its very highest
pitch, and the question of the eligibility of Coolie immigration as
a dernier ressort was mooted in the Legislative Council, and ably
discussed through the medium of the press. Lord Stanley’s
blunder^ therefore, could hardly have been occasioned by any
remarks in the despatches sent from hence. Perhaps the depres-
sion under which the great interests of the country were then
labouring, may have originated an idea, which the i\2iiwvd[ fertility
of his Lordship’s brain fostered into an excellent expedient for
getting rid of a difficult question without trouble.

The difficulty of the question lies in its novelty ; but we can
scarcely conceive one more fraught with interest to the people,
or honour to the government engaged in its successful develope-
ment. We almost shudder when we reflect upon the countless
numbers of able individuals, who, in Britain, are engaged in a
perpetual struggle for existence, and scarce know where to obtain
from the result of their labours wherewithal to enlarge the accu-
mulated sum of their misery, (for we can scarcely call that living
when both mind and feeling have sunk under the influence of
external circumstances). And then, when we turn to survey the
vast field for enterprise which our Colonies present, w’e are

2 L 2

5lG

POSTSCRIPT.

tempted to tliink that his Lordship’.s pliila nth ropy might be as
nobly if not as ostentatiously exercised, in affording relief to those
most pituMe of all slaves, the victims of misfortune and want
wl.o are suffering in his mon land, as in releasing the ne<^roes of
the West Indies from their bondage.” “

The Sydney editor goes on to show, from the
comparative prices of labour in the Colony, that the
average remuneration there, to ploughmen,‘labourers
and mechanics, is about double that paid to the
same class of persons in England ; and that while in
the mother-country, thousands cannot obtain employ-
ment at any wages at all, in the Colony labour of
every kind is in constant demand.

It will be seen from this, that persons planted in
the antipodes to each other on the surface of the
globe, conceive very nearly the same ideas, and
express them almost m the same words, when thev
come to the consideration of any subject, free from
the arrogance of official power, and untrammelled
by the foolish prejudice against novelty and innova-
tion ; when, in short, they bend their thoughts to
ihe exammaUon of a subject before they pronounce
It to be visionary and absurd,” instead of havin<r

\lZrL “^®""^ble expedient of exciting a

laugh in order to rid nf p u •

without troublo.” ®

crvV/Fiw *!’'** *". hemispheres, the

be^ re echoed Int* National Colonization will

and hot S a feUow-eountmon :

till ‘h- effort;

APPENDIX.

ABSTRACT OF THE ACT OF UNION FOR THE CANADAS,

PASSED JULY 23, 1840.

It was originally intended to have printed this Act entire ; but as,
like most other Acts of Parliament, the multiplicity of words in
which its enactments are clothed, renders it far less Intelligible to
the general reader than when divested of the surplus phraseology
in which the sense is often obscured, it has been thought best to
present a faithful Abstract of the same : and if a precedent for this
be wanting, it may be found in the case of the able and excellent
Chief- Justice Robinson, who, in his work, entitled “ Canada and
the Canada Bill,” gives, though a Judge, an Abstract of the Bill
rather than its verbose enactments, professedly to render the sub-
stance of it clearer to his readers. This praiseworthy example,
therefore, I may safely imitate. The several clauses of the Act, as
hereinafter enumerated, enact, in substance, as follows : —

I. That the two Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada be
united into one, under the name of the Province of Canada.

II. That certain previous Acts of Parliament recited be repealed.

III. That for the United Province there be one Legislative
Council and one Assembly, to be called the Legislative Council
and Assembly of Canada ; and that all laws passed by the said
Legislative Council and Assembly, and assented to by her Majesty,
shall be binding within the Province.

518

APPENDIX.

IV". That her Majesty may authorize the Governor-General to
summon to tlie Legislative Council such persons, not beino- fewer
tlian twenty, as her Majesty shall see fit ; and that every person so
summoned shall be a member of the Council.

V. That every member of the Legislative Council shall hold his
seat for life.

VI. That such members may resign their seats if they see fit.

VII. That if any member of the said Council fail to attend for
two successive sessions, without leave of absence, or take an oath of
allegiance' to any foreign power, or become the subject of anotlier
state, or become a banla-upt, an insolvent, or a defaulter, or be
attainted of treason, or guilty of felony, or any infamous criine, his
seat shall become vacant.

yill. That all questions arising out of the last clause shall be
referred by the Governor to the Legislative Council, who shall
decide, with power of appeal to her Majesty, whose decision shall
be final.

IX. That the Governor shall have power to appoint a Speaker
ot the Legislative Council out of the body, and to remove him
and substitute another in his room, at pleasure.

X. That ten, including the Speaker, shall be a quoi-um of the
Legislative Council, and that all questions shall be decided by a
majority of votes, exclusive of the Speaker, who shall only have a
casting vote m cases of equality.

As^nibi^-*'^*' Governor shall call together the Legislative

tt'“ Legislative Assembly, the Provinces

before called Upper and Lower Canada, shall be represented by an
equal number of members. ^

Ri,Sl!’ Sf f shall be divided into two

g , East and West, each to be represented by one member.

county of Northumberland shall be divided into
two Ridings, North and South, each to have one member.

APPEISDIX.

519

XVII. Tiiat the city of Toronto shall have two members; and
the towns of Kingston, Brockville, Hamilton, Cornwall, Niagara,
London, and Bytown, each one member.

XVIII. That each county in Lower Canada, which, before the
Act for Temporary Government, was entitled to be represented, shall
have one member, except the counties of Montmorency, Orleans,
L’ Assumption, La Chesuaye, L’Acadie, Laprairie, Dorchester, and
Beauce.

XIX. That the counties of Montmorency and Orleans shall be
united into one, under the name of Montmorency ; the counties
of L’ Assumption and La Chesnaye shall be united under the name
of Leinster ; the counties of Laprairie and L’Acadie shall be united
under the name of Huntingdon ; and the counties ' of Dorchester
and Beauce shall be united under the name of Dorchester ; and
each of the counties thus formed shall have one member.

XX. That the cities of Quebec and Montreal shall have each
two members ; and the towns of Three Rivers and Sherbrooke
each one member.

XXL That the boundaries of the cities and towns for electoral
purposes shall be determined by the Governor-General, within
thirty days after the Union ; and those parts of the cities and towns,
which are not included in those boundaries, shall be taken to be
part of the county or riding.

XXII. That the Governor shall nominate the returning officers,
subject to the provisions hereinafter contained.

XXIII. That no person shall be compelled to act as returning
officer for’ more than one year, or oftener than once, unless other-
wise provided by the United Legislature.

XXIV That writs, returnable within fifty days at farthest,
unless otherwise provided by the United Legislature, shall be issued
bv the Governor to the returning officer ; and that similar writs
shall be issued, when from any cause yacancy occurs, six days
after notice of such vacancy shall have been left with the proper
officer.

XXV That the Governor shall, until otherwise provided for,
fix the times and places of election, giving eight days notice of his
selection.

XXVI. That the Legislature may alter the divisions and ex-
tents of the ridings, counties, cities, and towns, and establish new
Ind other divisions, and make a new apportionment of the
of representatives, and alter and regulate the appointment of

520

APPENDIX.

returning officers, and make provisions for tlie issuing and return
ot writs, and the times and places of holding elections. But no
Bill, by which the number of re[iresentatives is altered, shall be
presented to tlje Governor for Royal assent, unless the second and
third reading in the Assembly and Legislative Council shall have
been passed, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members
of each. And the Royal assent shall not be given, unless addresses
shall have been presented to the Governor by the Legislative Coun-
passed *‘®®Pectively stating the Bill to have been so

XXVII. That until further provisions are made by the United
Legislature, the laws relating to the qualiecation of candidates and
voteiB, (except those which relate to the property qualification of

of duties

of the returning officers, the duration of and proceedings at elec-
tions, the trial of controverted elections, the vacating o/the seats
of members and the issuing and executing new writ! for vacande
other than by dissolution, which are in foi-ce in Upper Canada

Act for Temporary Government, shall respectively be applied to
Imridrcd pounds sterling* money of Orpof p v of five

demeanour, and subjected to the penalties of perjury. ^ ^

saine as he shall see fit; and that he shall have ^
and dissolve the same, as he shall deeni expediL^?'''®’’

tV'’?',?*-?”" ofk. Council
lor four years, from tlie day of tl.e^murn

XXX.T Tu'““ kx

.i..» ukc pi« .?.r,s sif

APPENDIX.

521

XXXIII. That the Legislative Assembly shall at Its first meet-
ing elect a Speaker out of the body, and fill up his place whenever
a vacancy occur ; and that the Speaker shall preside at all the
meetings of the Assembly.

XXXIV. That twenty, including the Speaker, shall be a quorum
of the Legislative Assembly ; and that all questions shall be decided
by a majority of votes, exclusive of the Speaker, who shall have
a casting vote in cases of equality.

XXXV. That no person shall sit or vote in the Council or
Assembly, until he shall have taken and subscribed the oath of
allegiance before the Governor, or some person empowered by him.

XXXVI. That all persons now authorized by law to do so, may
make an affirmation in place of oath.

XXXVII. That when any Bill is presented to the Governor for
Royal assent, he, subject to the provisions of this Act, and to the
instructions he may receive from lier Majesty, shall in her Majesty’s
name give or withhold her Assent, or declare that he receives the
Bill for the signification of her Majesty’s pleasure.

XXXVIII. That when any Bill has been assented to by the
Governor in her Majesty’s name, he shall transmit a copy of it to
one of the Secretaries of State, and that within two years, her
Majesty may declare her disallowance of it ; and that the declara-
tion of this fact by the Governor to the Council and Assembly shall
annul the former assent.

XXXIX. That no Bill which has been received by the Govemor
shall liave any force until he shall declare to the Council and
Assembly, or make Proclamation, that lier Majesty has assented to
it ; and that such assent shall have no force unless given within
two years after the Bill has been presented to the Governor.

XL. That notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, or
any other Act of the British or Provincial Parliament, her Majesty
may authorize the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province to exercise
any of the powers, judicial as well as other of the Govemor, not-
withstanding the presence of the Governor within the Province ;
and that her Majesty may authorize the Governor to depute any
person or persons to be his deputies, and exercise all his functions,
as well judicial as other, during his pleasure. Provided always
that the power of the Governor shall not be abridged, altered, or
affected by the appointment of these deputies, otherwise than as
her Majesty shall direct.

XLI. That from and after the Union, all writs, reports, journals,
and all public instruments whatever, connected with the Assembly

522

APPENDIX.

and Council, shall be in English only ; and no translated copy
shall be kept on record, or have the force of an original record in
any case, though such shall not be forbidden to be made.

XLTI. That whenever an^ Bill shall be passed by the Council
and Assembly, affecting the rights of the Clergy of the Church of
Rome, or the Established Church, or the exercise of religious
worship, or her Majesty’s prerogative of granting waste lands
within the Province, such Bill shall be laid before the British
Parliament ; and her Majesty shall not assent to such Bill until it
has lain thirty days before the British Parliament, nor then, if
either House present an address to her Majesty, praying her to
withhold her assent ; and that no such Bill shall be valid in the
Province, unless the Council and Assembly shall, in the Session in
which the Bill was passed, have presented addresses to the Governor
^ecifying the nature of the Bill, and praying him to transmit it to
England to be laid before the British Parliament.

XLIII. That nothing in this Act shall affect the execution of
any law of the British Parliament with regard to Customs, or the
regulation of Commerce. Provided always that the net produce of
such duties as are imposed shall be applied for the use of the
Province, and (except as hereafter provided) in such manner only
as her Majesty, with the advice and consent of the Council and
Assembly of the Province shall direct.

XLiy. That until otherwise provided by the Council and
Assembly of the Province, the judicial and ministerial authority
w nch was exercised by the Governor, Lieutunant-Governor, and
any members of the Executive Council of either Province, shall be
wsted m the like officer of the United Provinces and the Court of
Queens Bench of Upper Canada shaU be held at Toronto, or
wtlnn a mile from its municipal boundary. Provided always that
the Governor, with the consent of the Executive Council, may
appoint by Proclamation any place within the late Province of
Uppei Canada for the holding the said Court of Queen’s Bench.

XLV. That all powers which have been vested in the Governor.
Lieutenant-Governor, and Executive Council of either Province

Sm ^ repugnant

to the Act vested in tlie Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Exe-

cutive Council of the United Province alone, or in conjunction.

tim^S'ie ®****®*‘ Province at the

Vince to whS^X s’»all continue in force in those parts of the Pro-

^Ct or shall bp nlf ^^^e altered by this

iS’re Act of the Provincial Legis-

APPENDIX.

6-23

XL VII. That all civil and criminal courts, all legal commissions,
powers, and authorities, and all officers, judicial, administrative, or
ministerial, except so far as they are altered or abolished by this
Act, shall continue in their respective portions of the Province the
same as before the Union.

XL VI II. That in all Acts of the Provincial Legislature, which
Acts were to continue in force for a certain number of years, and
from tlience to the end of the then next ensuing session of the
Legislature of the Province in which they were passed, these words
shall be construed to apply to the session of the United Legislature
in all unexpired Acts.

XLIX. That the provisions of a former Act of the British
Parliament, which constitute certain arbitrators in matters of
trade between the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, be
repealed.

L. That after the Union, all duties and revenues over which the
respective Legislatures have had control, shall form one con-
solidated revenue fund for the public service of the Province of
Canada, in the manner and subject to the charges hereafter men-
tioned.

LI. That the consolidated fund shall be permanently charged
with all the expenses incident to its collection, management, and
receipt ; such expenses to be audited in such manner as an Act of
the United Legislature shall direct.

LII. That there shall be payable every year to her Majesty, her
Heirs, and Successors, the sum of forty-five thousand pounds, out
of the consolidated revenue fund, for defraying the expenses noted
in Schedule A, annexed to this Act ; and during the life and five
years after the demise of her Majesty, the additional sum of thirty
thousand pounds, for the purposes marked in Schedule B, annexed
to this Act ; these sums to be issued by the Receiver-General in dis-
charge of the warrants of the Governor, and accounted for hy him
to her Majesty, in such manner and form as her Majesty shall be
graciously pleased to direct.

LIII. That until altered by the Provincial Legislature, the
salaries of the Governor and Judges shall be those set against
them in Schedule A ; but the Governor may abolish any ot the
offices in Schedule B, and vary the sums assigned to various

branches in Schedule B; the sums thus saved being appropriid^^^
to the Dimose of Government in the Province, as her Majesty sha I
direct not more than 2,000/. out of the 45 000 • shall

be payable as pensions to the Judges, and not more than 5,000/.

524

APPENDIX.

out of the 30,0001. shall be payable as pensions; and that the
aecoun s of expenditure for the past year be laid shall before the
Council and Assembly, thirty days after the beginning of the ses-
sion and a list of the pensions, and of the persons to whom granted
shall be also submitted to them. ' g*aut,ea,

LIV. That during the time for which the sums of 4'ionn/

and 30,p00f. are respectively payable, they shall be accepted^bv

her Majesty, as Civil List, in lieu of all territorial and other
revenues ; and that three-fifths of the territorial and other revenues
the Province shal be paid over to the consolidated revenue fund
and that during the life of her Majesty, and for five years after the

fuTh remaining two-fifths of these revenues

shall be also paid over to the consolidated revenue fund.

consolidation of the duties and revenues of the
United Province shall not affect the payments of suras heretofore
charged on the revenue of the respective Provinces.

1 . The expenses of collection, management, and receipt.

A The annual interest of the public debt of the Province

3. The payments of the Clergy of different denominations

4. The sum of £45,000 for the purposes in Schedule A.

purpose, in ■!»

t*‘cse charges, the consolidated revenue

pn.t.ng ll.e ,„rpl„. .t the co,»oH.t,d*fu„d“ 7 of inv o1|7h '
appointment ol toivn.liin ofltcer^ ’ i tlie election and

by Pr,.el..nali.„,Tnd £ wTtW Tie o?"!””! *°

named in it. lorce of law from a day to be

the^Svelmr ot^^ Proving in this Act to

liovince, shall be exercised by him in con-

APPENDIX.

525

forniity with, and subject to, such orders and instructions as her
Majesty shall see fit to issue.

LX. That nothing in this or any other Act shall be construed to
restrain her Majesty, if she shall be so pleased, from annexing the
Magdalen Islands, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to her Majesty’s
Island of Prince Edward.

LX I. That in this Act, unless otherwise specified, the words

Act of the Legislature of the Province of Canada,” shall be under-
stood to mean. Act of her Majesty, her heirs and successors, enacted
by her Majesty, or by the Governor on behalf of her Majesty, by
and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and
Assembly of the Province of Canada; and the words “ Governor
of the Province of Canada” shall be understood to mean, the
Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, or person authorized to execute
the office and functions of Governor of the Province.

LXII. That this Act may be amended or repealed by any Act,
to be passed in the present session of Parliament.

•3

526

APPENDIX.

SCHEDULE A.

Governor

Lieutenant-Governor

£.

7.000

1.000

UPPER CANADA.

1 Chief Justice

4 Puisne Judges, £900 each
1 Vice-Chancellor

1,500

3,600

1,125

LOWER CANADA.

1 Chief Justice, Quebec

3 Pmsne J udges, Quebec, £900 each . . ^ !

1 Chief Justice, Montreal

3 Puisne Judges, Montreal, £900 each

1 Resident Judge, Three Rivers

1 Judge, Inferior District of St. Francis !.

1 Judge, Inferior District of Gaspe
Pensions to the Judges-Salaries of the Attorl
mes and Sohcitors General, and Contingent
and Miscellaneous Expenses of Administration
ot Justice throughout the Province of Canada

1,500

2,700

1,100

2,700

900

500

20,875

£45,000

SCHEDULE JB.

Civil Secretaries and their Offices
Provincial Secretaries and their Offices
Receiver-General and his Office
Inspector-General and his Office
Executive Council

Board of Works

Emigrant Agent

Pensions

Contingent Expences of Public Offices ' ’

£.

8,000

3.000

2.000

3.000

2.000
700

5,000

3,300

£30,000

GENERAL INDEX.

Acadia^ the name given by the French to those provinces novv* called New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island, 363.

Acadians, a cruel project of Governor Lawrence, Admiral Mostyn, and
Admiral Boscawen, to root out the Acadians from the territory of Nova
Scotia, 327. Ten thousand sent into exile among the North American
colonies, 328. Statement of Judge Haliburton, 329. A second case of
expulsion, ibid. Cruel and barbarous conduct of the English in Prince
Edward Island, 365.

Ali Khan, Jaffier, an exiled Indian prince, anecdote of, 348.

America, agreeable contrast of an English steamer with an American, 6.
American practice of attaching bar-rooms to the principal hotels, 29.
Resemblances and differences between Canada and the United States, 28.
Superiority of America to Canada more imaginary than real, 31. Ame-
rican enterprise with Irish labour and English capital, ibid. Strange
dislike of the Americans, 36. Feelings of hatred and contempt seem
to be universal, 138. Canadians will see no virtue or excellence in the
American nation, 139. Not joined by the Canadians in their revolt against
the mother-country, 296. The treaty of Washington, 423.

Annapolis, a town of Nova Scotia, site of, 356.

Anticosti, island of, in the river St. Lawrence, 313.

Arthur, Sir George, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, presides at a
public meeting held on Queenstown Heights, 39.

Baqot, Sir Charles, Governor- General of Canada, 301. r t j r

Baltimore, Lord, founded the first permanent settlement in the Islan^d of
Newfoundland, 373. Sought here an asylum for the free exercise of his
religion, as a Roman Catholic, ibid. Made his son governor of the
Colony, which he named Avalon, after the ancient name of Glastonbury,
in England, ibid. Retired to Maryland, in America, where he founded
the city which bears his name, ibid. .

Bay of Quinte, an inlet from the general course of Lake Ontario, 64.
Beauport, site of, 266. Its church remarkable for its three spires, 267.
Beauhurmis, the scene of a terrible conflagration during the late rebe ion,
90. The seigneury, or o\\mership, was vested in Mr. Edwaid Ellice,
M. P. for Coventry, ibid. Sold by him to a company of proprietors, in
England, 91.

52H

GENERAL INDEX.

Bedford, basin, or inner harbour of the port of Halifax, in Nova Scotia “Vt*!
All the navies of the world might ride at anchor in it, secure from everv
wind that blows, every

American reprint of English works, 141. Few published originallv
in Canada, 142. The British have no scruple in doing themselves what
they condemn the Americans for, ibid.

Boundary line, between the British Provinces and the United States
fixed by the treaty of 17^ 422. Both parties to this treaty were 1?.,^
rant of the topography of the region in question, 42.3. Lord AshbiirtoWs
treaty, Dishonest and unscrupulous conduct of the negociators at
Washington, dnd Lord Ashburton entitled to the thanks of fhe countrv
for having nevertheless succeeded in settling the treaty on terms “uffi

S^ndlr tta.”

Bras d' Or, or the Arm of Gold, a noble inlet of Cape Breton, 360
Brook, Maior-General, Sir Isaac, killed at the batt e of Queenstovn 07
Ills monument destroyed, and great public meeting on the oc“n, 38 ’

^t'^d-'the" emftiS&rri^fcfcr to^^^^^ "^7

j1hn'B"t;i‘'’ N-\Scotia, and pSiSe Gulf of

John, the father, was knighted, with a reward of .flO sterling from

kings privy purse, ,Ud. Sebastian was appointed grend ptlo of Frii/

p:,r.‘^L"Ll*dl^iS-

^X'^Unired'stotef2l’"“ro ^ Canadians and the people of

Canadians in their resVectiv^^ttrSil^^^^^

Robinson’s work, “ On Canada and the Ca^iada^ffill ’’ 34 ° F *"1”®
with the recent rebellion, 42. The soil of TTnnl, r. Facts^on'iected

that of the States of Nevv York 01 Zo 40 C

than the people of the United States 51 ’ temperate

gents from the fort at Kiniton 6 UifTcrp^
for uniting the ProvincXsi bvvclHn^^ f v,®®" bill

by great neatness aiXeauliness 87 characterized

French peasantry and the disorderlv ®r between the courteous

Causes for such distinction ibid Fwer^o the United States, 268.
104. The Canadians dirnotloin he “®‘ ‘ebellion,

the mother-country, 187. Zea/amI Aov^r™®^ ® ’’et'clt against

sionaries,2ol. tL mi] tiaXf T ol *be first Catholic mis-
late disturbances, 281. Those of the "°t called out during the

their loyalty and aHachmeiXto iwl mA^ ^ S'*'®

History>f taiiada, 292. first laref boa’ "’'"‘"b of the

294. First importation of the hors/ ®/.^™Jgrants from France,
divided into two by Mr. Pitt 297 ’ RpLi?* ^ ^ Province.

Papineau and Mr. Mackenzie 298 ’ p? beaded by Mr.

299. Lord DurhamtXsted \vfth ^'00 ""‘‘®’' “ despotism,

government, z6id. Reports on the stare of XT®’ ‘be reins of

as they were before Mr. Pitt? bill r. ^ Provinces, ,bid. Re-union,
deserted by the Whies 3ni o b'H, recommended, 300. Lord Durham
;^ca, .303.'^ CHma?:r304"'>®oS^^^ Thompson IS

306. Act of Union, (Appendif)7517 ’ ^ ^°1"''8‘’0". ^bid. Lakes,

GENEUAL INDEX.

559

Can.seau, Gut of, dividing Cape Breton from Nova Scotia, 317
Cape Breton, visited by the French in 1504, 169. Situation, 357. Settled
by the French, and by them called L isle Royal, .-AW. The town of
Louisbourgh founded, i6id. Taken by the English, 358. Restored to
France at the peace of Aix-la-CImpelle, 359. Taken by the English in
the war of I7o6, tbid. Made a county of Nova Scotia, 360. Area of the
island, Coal and iron form its chief value, ibid. Its water so

charged with bituminous gas that it will burn like spirits, 361 Coal
mines first opened, ibid. Population, 362.

Cape Bbw-me-down, its derivation, 390. Superstitious dread of seamen.
tbtd.

Cape Diamond, near Quebec, height of, 280.

^rUton, General, his victory over the Americans at Quebec, 188.

Carleton, Lieutenant- Colonel, first governor of New Brunswick 420. Laid
the foundation of Fredericton, ibid.

Carhton, a suburb of the city of St. John, New Brunswick, 401.

Cartier^ Jacques, a celebrated French navigator, enters the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, 94. His hospitable reception by the Indians, 95. Gives the
name of Mount Royal to the mountain which rises behind the present
city of Montreal, 96. Arrived at Newfoundland, naming the Cape Bona-
yista, 171. His second voyage, ibid. Gives name to the St. Lawrence,
ibid. His progress up that river, 174. Appointed captain-general and
leader of the squadron in Canada, 175.

Catholic, Cathedral at Montreal, description of, 109. The benevolent
institutions of that city are large, richly endowed, and well conducted,
113. Nunnery of the Hotel Dieu, 114. Convent of Notre Dame, 116.
Gr^ Nunnery, 117. Foundling and Orphan Asylum.^ 118. Seminary
of St. Sulpice, 121. The St. Sulpicians are the seigneurs or lords of
the manor of Montreal, 122. Their rights confirmed by the treaty of
capitulation, 123. A great obstacle to the sale, transfer, or improvement
of property, ibid. Their legal title thereto questioned, 124. Lord
Sydenham issued an ordinance confirming them in the full possession of
all that they claim, ibid. The use made of the funds thus obtained appears
to be unobjectionable, ibid. Strong feeling against them in many news-
papers, 136. Extract from the Montreal Herald, 137. Convent of the
order of Recollets founded at Quebec, 204. The Jesuits first visited
Quebec, 205. Foundation of their college, ibid. Church and college of
the Jesuits destroyed by fire, ibid Father Casot, the last of the Jesuits,
died in 1800, when the whole property of the order fell into the posses-
sion of the crown, 206. Hotel Dieu, ibid. De.^cription of, 208. Ursu-
line convent, 210. Twice destroyed by fire, ibid Seminary for the
education of male youths, 212. Ancient palace of the bishop appropriated
to the legislative council, 214. General hospital founded by Mons. de
Saint Valliere, the second bishop of Quebec, 215. Cathedral founded
by Mons. Francois de Laval, first bishop of Quebec, 216. Retraite
Generale, resembling a religious revival of America, 217. Great efforts
to confirm the wavering in their faith, and bring new converts into the
fold, 218. Their efforts above all praise, 251 . Missionaries among the
Indians, 252. Efforts of the Bishop of Nancy and the clergy of Quebec
in favour of temperance, 259. Crosses by the wayside, 280. Relics of
votive offerings, 181. Village of Lorette inhabited by Indian Catholics,
289. Singular superstition at, 290. Religious establishments of the
Jesuits, 294. Father Hennepin was the first to give an account of the
Falls of Niagara, 295- Seminary of St. Mary’s, at Halifax. 338. A
design of the Puritans of New England to dislodge the Catholics of Cape
Breton, 358 Instance of Puritan bigotry and deceit, ibid. The Catholics
sought refuge in Newfoundland from the persecutions of England and
Ireland; 373.

^2 M

530

GENERAL INDEX.

Chaleurs, bay of, famous for its fisheries, 312.

Champlain, a captain in the French navy, appointed to command an exnc
diOon to Canada, 176. Discovered the lake which bears his name 177
Founded Quebec, ibid. Sent to England as a prisoner of war’l 7s‘
di'ed* fro'" thence to Canada, where he

Chauncaj, Commodore, with a fleet of American vessels, attacks Forts St

s^n^gfeTs r^pufsrd!^^

Charlotte, town, capital and cWef port of Prince Edward Island, 366.
Chauditre, falls of the, 278. Their delightful situation, 279.

Churches great contrast betwixt those of the United States and England

favour of the Americans, 22. Differences of Roman
Catholic and Protestant, 89. i^oman

Co/nmza/eow, plan to relieve ^ of her surplus population

\ employment ind food for the

British people, 436. Emigration upon an extensive scale will obtain that

^ g»eat empires from neg-

lect of Colonization, 438. England must take an opposite course, or share
a similar fate, 439. Extent of our colonial possessions 440 Oiirinfifv •
of land in the Canadas and neighbouring provinces 441 Redundaiu

$4r X’sitt ‘'‘“I Pu"'"‘P‘“^ whicrwould nloifl" S

446. Blessings of such a state of things to England and her Colonies

/•’ 489. Postscript, 514.

Cook, Captain, the celebrated circumnavigator of the globe, served in the
expedition against Quebec in 1759, 180 Brief notice of iM n ffi/, !
duties connected with the attack committed to his care ibid Took a
nautical surv^ey of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the coasts ol Net

SmS OT ' "*• “■> ‘S' «««• .mi

DciTtniouthy town of Nova Spofli 4301 1 x

nunn, Mr. Thomas, brief notice of population, 332.

b^auTifu^SmZt'm,^ of Montreal. 150. Forms a

19.5. Appointed Governor CeZ I Q"obec,

■ voluminous reports on the smtrof t^e ‘ P"""''’*- ^99. His

re- union of the provinces ibiJ r.. Kecommends a

character held inVes^r'd’ SnaSfJS *"”eland, 301. His

GENERAL INDEX.

.531

Ellice, Mr. jun., during his residence at Beaiiharnois, taken prisoner by tlie
insurgents in the late rebellion, 90.

Everett, Hon. Edward, his lecture on the voyages of the Northmen, 370.

Fredericton, capital of New Brunswick, its pleasing appearance from the
ri ver St. John, 416. Residence of the Lieutenant-Governor, ihid. Situa-
tion, 417. King’s college deemed the finest building in the Province,
418. Churches and benevolent institutions, ibid. Province Hall, ibid.
Governor’s house, ibid. Founded by Governor Carleton in 1785, 410.
Its central situation makes it an important military depot, ibid. Popula-
tion, ibid.

Gaspe, town of, 312. Trade and population of, 313.

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, obtained a
patent from Queen Elizabeth to colonize 200 leagues of Newfoundland,
372. His disastrous expedition, ibid. Acted as admiral under Sir Waller
Raleigh and reached Newfoundland, ibid. On his return- voyage hi.s
vessel foundered in a heavy gale off the Azores, ibid. His last expres-
sion, ibid.

Hahitans, French Canadian peasantry so called, 88. As healthy as any
persons of the same class in England, 264. Amongst the happiest
peasantry in the world, ibid. Possess as much habitual cheerfulness and
courtesy of manners as the peasantry of France, 277. Mostly proprie-
tors of the lands they cultivate, ibid. Practice of subdividing their pro-
perty at their death in equal portions, ibid.

Halifax, capital of Nova Scotia, striking entrance of its harbour, 319.
First sight of the town unfavourable, 320. First settled by the French,
325. Founded by the English, ibid. Present name given, 326. First
form of government, ibid. Indians hostile to the English, ibid. Its value
as a naval station, ibid. Fine view of the town and fortifications, 332.
Symmetrical form of its streets, 333. More so than Quebec or Mon-
treal, ibid. Neglect of the footpath.s, ibid. Citadel, 334. Dockyard and
ordnance depot, ibid. Province Building, large, handsome, and commo-
dious, 335. Government House, 337. Protestant college founded by
the Earl of Dalbousie, ibid. Catholic college of St. Mary’s, 338.
Mechanics’ institute, ibid. Places of worship, ibul. Clergy and ministers
of religion possess more than a usual share of ability and piety, 339.
Newspapers and periodicals, ibid. Commerce, 340. Theatre not attended
by the higher or middle classes, ibid. Population, ibid. Negroes brought
as prisoners of war from America, 341. Runaway slaves from the West
Indies, ibid. Their destitute condition, ibid. Great cordiality among all
classes of society, 342. Here, as in Canada, there is a large class of
reformers, who contend for the necessity of a responsible government,
ibid. Entirely British in their feelings, and eminently loyal, The

ladies are almost all well-read and well-informed, 343. Form a happy
medium betwixt those of England and the United States, ibid. No
show or ostentation in their houses or furniture, ibid. Only one bank
stopped payment since the founding of the colony, 344. Agricultural,
society formed under the auspices of the Earl of Dalhousie, ibid. Beau-

2 M 2

532

GENERAL INDEX.

'’"Y®* “ecuted by order of Sir Colin Campbell 345
Bedford basin, or inner harbour, a noble expanse of water ibid H»rn,;
sunenor in the world, 352. Shipping, 355.*^ Courts of j dieai.tre 3M
Head, Sir Francis, Governor of Upper Canada, blamed for nT’eai^;;
opposing the insurpnts during the late rebellion, 42. His plan for
transferring all the Indian tribes on the continent of j *

the Great Manitoulin Island in Lake HuroTd?

or Hurl Gate, a rocky strait in Long Island Sound, 478
Hennepin, Father, a Jesuit, the first European who visitor
account of the Falls of Niagara, 295 ** ^ave an

‘.TS «»■

Hunter, Lieutenant-General, Governor of Unnpr n ■,

in.chief of the forces in both Pro^ces, Sfed i^ Quebec" 2^!"""“"'*^^-

Indians, the celebrated Indian Kah-ke-wa-quon-a-bee or tliP rar^MT a •

Are said to have a greater respect for the separation, 48.

Indians, or “ wild men ” taken from Novlf “"ai Three

tian Cabot, 168. Fifty-seven Indian. by Sebas-

Gaspar Cortereal to be used as la^ - f a”"" V by

a pilot of Dieppe, conveyed some EnsT ® r “ * o"®*’ Hubert,

where they excited great curiosity IfiO i 9“P® to France,

Indian tow"n of S he ‘^’e em s te of

reception of Cartier by Doni.aconran Indian chtf jT^ n
with two Indians of rank, visit France eaci. r u '’ Ho""acona,

by the king. 174. Donnacona the Indian i^ r '^®"'® '^®*' ■'“eeived

excellent painting at Sc repres^^^^^ 175. An

created chief of the council’ of ’the Hurmi tribr2?q“‘*n"
names, 250. Indian village of Lorette ^5 ^ Valh' .^®®®"P“«" a"^
only “ Huron the son of a Huron ’’ without th; l the

blood, 286. The Hiirnnc i ^he letist admixture of white

of the Indian tribes, 287. Thei7grotesT4^d^^ any other

into two divisions by the stream of thp f’ divided

Indians at Lorette, 289. Singular sunpr«H<--^^^^ ^^"**ch of the

Loretta,” 290. Tribe of Micmacs aT ^^yof

conveyed some native Indians from^ n Sebastian Cabot

Tribe of the Meleseet, 466. Newfoundland to England, 371.

Johnson, Sir William, takes Fort Niagara, 3.

to^he’BritLhat“^7^^,J;^^^^^^^^^^

GENERAL INDEX.

533

culture its chief source of wealth, ibid. Unites strength, beauty, and
convenience, U>ld, Admirable position of the fort, 60. Escape of two
Canadian insurgents by a subterranean passage, 61. Public buildings,
62. Places of worship, 63. Its penitentiary conducted on the silent
system, 66. Chaplain’s report, 69. Inspector’s reports of, 70. News-
papers, 78. Great fire at, in the spring of 1839, ibid. Society at King-
ston less extensive, less varied, and less elegant, than that of Toronto,
80. Arrival of Mr. Poulett Thompson the Governor- General, ibid
Receives addresses from the corporation and other bodies, 81.

Labrador^ Terra Labrador, or the land of Labourers, why so called, 169.

Lakts of Upper Canada, notice of their respective areas, 306.

La SuUe^ a celebrated French commander, erects a fortress against the
native Indians on the spot on which Fort Niagara now stands, 3.

Louisbuuryh, capital of the Island of Cape Breton, founded by the French,
1720, 357. Its fortifications cost thirty millions of livres, 358. After
an obstinate siege and defence taken by the British in 1745, ibid. This
contest was not so much a national as a religious war, 358. Two French
East Indiamen decoyed into the harbour by false colours, 359. Ceded
to France by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, ibid. Taken by the Eng-
lish in the war of 1756, ibid. Entirely dismantled and its fortresses
destioyed, 360.

Magdalen Islands, to the north-west of Cape Breton, the property of the
late Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, 314. Population, 362.

Mars' Hill, one of the points of the boundary line, 467. Fine view of,
468.

McGill, Mr., an eminent merchant of Montreal, left an estate, and the sum
of ^10,000, for the founding of an institution for the higher branches of
education, 127. His will contested, 128. Decision in favour of its vali-
dity, and the college incorporated, ibid.

Metcalfe, Sir Charles Theophilus, appointed governor-general, 301. His
appointment does great honour to the discrimination of Sir Robert Peel,

302.

Miramichi, dreadful and calamitous fire upon the river of, 430. The towns
of Douglas and Newcastle destroyed, 431. At least 500 human beings
perished in the flames, ibid. Public subscriptions in England and in the

United States, 432. „ , ^ ^ i t

Montcalm, Marquis de, commander of the French forces at Quebec when
attacked by General Wolfe, 184. Commanded the left of the arm^ in
the battle of the Plains, 183. Wounded by a musket-shot, 184. Received
his death-wound from the only piece of cannon which the English had
on the field, ibid. His last words, ibid. His dying moments marked by
great generosity towards his conquerors, ibid. His body interred in the
Ursuline convent at Quebec, 185. Lord Aylmer caused a marWe slab to
be placed over his grave, 21 1 . Monument to the memoTj of Wolte and
Montcalm, 232. Description of, 2.33. Early Freiich tribute to bis
memory, 234. Correspondence of Mons. de Bougainville and Mr. ritt,
(afterwards Earl of Chatham), ibid. i

Montgomery. General, of the American service, killed during a night attack

Mls^f, 270. Their beauty overrated, ibid. General Wolfe
Laval de, first CathoUc bishop of Quebec, founds

OEJfKK.VI. INDEX.

531

Montreal, visited bv Cartier a Tronoi. .

95. The island ceded by the Kiiie of F f

Ceremony of con.secration of the French^tow/^'^rt.® »><lividuals,
the Jesuits, 97. The whole of the nronorf,*? " superior of

to whom it had been granted b^the Fr!n!l t '^sociates

St^ Sulpieian.s, at Paris, ibil 4e seminarv

Abbe Quelus, 98. A horrible masLcrc™of17 PI*"® ^y the

Indians, 99. Surrendered to the British Iroquois

fires at, ibid. Card-inonev ibid <5 ' " capitulation, 100 - Terrible
Montgomery, 101 . RSen''by ^

William Henry, (William IVW/wW Visited by Prince

phenomenon occurred at, 102. Visited remarkable and alarming

first overt acts of the rebellion nf 1 Asiatic cholera, 100 . The

Montreal, 104. The ‘‘ti' ^of Liber^^^^^^^^ 1837 committed ii!

cathedral, 109. Other Roman r*.fKl!r 1 . ®'l‘'at'on, 105. Catholic
Episcopal church built by a narlkmen chuiclie.s, ] | ]. The Protestant
ibid. Wesleyan Methodist.s,^l 1 . 3 . OthTrifhces ®f.°‘ch churches,
iiery of the Hotel Dieu founded l.v M a P'aces of worship, ibid. Nini-
of Notre Dame founded by S.^e ^ Conveilt

Nunneiy, founded by Madame jXvO ^ , r H 8 ' The Grey

ling and Orphan Asylum, 118. The brmh»^“'''*r'“u “/l'’
seigneurs, or lords of the manor of iho ^"^°i 8 “lpicians are

Large revenues therefrom, 123 Tlmfr'l f n"'* Motreal, 122.
ordinaiice by the governor-generiil the a ‘'‘’"H'med by an

made of the funds an nears tn h Lord Sydenham, 124. The

Canadian school, 126. ^Protestln/ Nat'io^'’t‘'“r“i^®’ »"<1

McG.ll college, ibid. MunfolKover menVfC^

bmld.ngs Commerce, statement o™ 1 31 3"<1 ™»"icipal

at the hotel ^I3<; population,

real conducted with talent and cnnrt-Ac / ? Newspapers of Mont-

c'nmtred “ ‘d"™“ ” order of thelf E«'“ct

and Bruish against tl Sa„.ri 3 ^

i40. American reprints of Fno-i.In^* .Extract from the “ Courier ”
stores, 141. Ship/buildingf fie% found in thd S-

Nelson 144. Champ de Mars 145 Rpi *1 memory of Lord

ehanics Institute, 148. Minima] Me-

'S '“r’s?;:, ?- Xi si

i.'.— ‘4," ““5 f

El'e Freri.h, iggi'""'-'"'''"'.. of the forces at Quebec, bis gallantry against

A-cyroci .i^''"S"mnnbrr"a^^^ Newfoundland, 37 . 4 .

Wh^i 1 American war ibifJ vi ^ Alexander Coch-

Wdby‘;Tee;‘'- ''“‘‘®”-4™Venmn7in?h:r'‘‘n-^^

} the goveriimem, ibid. * ^ <^oi‘dition, ibid. Neg-

GENERAL INDEX.

535

Niaifara, fort of, early settlement at by I.a Salle, 3. Present fort built by
the French in 1725; taken by Sir William Johnson on the part of the
British in 1759; ceded to the Americans in 1796; taken by the English
in 1813; yielded to the United States in 1815,3. Sketch of its his-
t(iry, 4.

Nicholson, General, failed in an attempt to reduce Quebec, 179.

Nw Bi'unsicick, formed part of the French territory of Acadia, 399. At
the cession of the Canadas in 1763, it was claimed by the French as
Acadia, 400. Counterclaimed by the English as part of Nova Scotia,
ibid. Included in the province of Nova Scotia until 1784, when it was
established as a new colony under its present name, 420. Fredericton
founded, Chosen for its central position, Area, 421. Bays

and rivers, ibid. Interior of the territory, 424. Forests and quarries,
425. Has immense stores of mineral wealth 426. Number of acres
fitted for tillage and pasture, ibid. Climate and soil, ibid. Population
only wanted to make the colony rich, prosperous, and powerful, 427.
Prices of land, ibid. Custom of gavelkind as it prevails in Kent, in
England, ibid. Population, 428. Religious sects, ibid. Government of
the province, ibid. Salaries of public officers, 429. Provincial and ter-
ritorial revenue, ibid. Surplus revenue above expenditure, ibid. Com-
merce, ibid. Calamities by fire, 430.

Newfoundland, one of the oldest of our Western colonies, 369. Size, dtid.
Features of resemblance to Ireland, ibid. Nearest part of America to
Europe, 370. Voyages of the Scandinavians and Welsh, ibid. Discovered
by Cabot, and called by him Prima Vista, 371. Early voyages of Eng-
lish, French, and Portuguese fishing vessels to its coasts, ibid. Sir
Humphrey Gilbert obtained a patent froni Queen Elizabeth to colonize
200 leagues, 372. His disastrous expedition, ibid. Sir Walter Raleigh’s
patent, ibid. Royal patent of King James I., ibid. First permanent
settlement in 1623 by Lord Baltimore. 373. His son governor of the
colony, ibid. Charles I. gave a patent to Lord Falkland to found a
settlement, ibid. Contests between the French and English for the exclu-
sive right of fishing, ibid. Lord Beauclerke appointed the first British
governor over the whole island, 374. Appointed Captain Osborne of the
navy as his deputy, ilnd. Custom of appointing naval officers as gover-
nors, Constitution first granted, t6iV£. First local parliament, 37 o.

Captain Prescott the last of the naval governors, ibid Area, Pro-

ductions, 376. St. John’s the chief town, ibid. Climate, 377. \\ild
animals, 378. Domesticated animals, 379. Fisheries, ibid. Population,
384. Religious sects, ibid.

Nova prevalence of English names along its coast, 318. Geo-
logical theory of the formation bays, 319. First settlemeiU

by^the French, 325. Halifax founded by the English, ibid, Acadia the
F^Vch name of the Province, 327. Diabolical jilan of
rence Admiral Mostyn, and Admiral Boscawen to root out the Acadians
from ’the territory, Ten thousand of the French peasantry, or

Acadians banishel 328. A second case;of exile of the unhappy Aca-
dian s 329 General description of the Province, 3^ First discovered

bv To’hn and Sebastian Cabot in 1497, 347. Visited by the Ma.qins de
t>y jonn diiQ oco Colonized by the French, when it was named

b/ the English. The whole «f

j. ’ .. /I fr. William A-lexander, by .lames 1 , 348. Its name

Nova sS-ti^^Sr Cndary, Order of Nova Scotia

changed to ’ Original French settlers dislodged hy order

baronets by Cht^^sl.,.«9. „eaty of Breda, ibi,l.

^ V TrthivSsh rte command of Sir William I>hi,,,,s .m

r'eded to France by the treaty of Ryswick, ibid. Again captured by the
Enjf^sh, /w Finally ceded to the British m the reign of Q.iccn Anne,

general index.

586

large accession of British settlers ir i i

with atrocities of which Eii.w^'^a ^ ® expulsion
ashamed, ib7d. First constitution for rho rr ’’felaiid may well be
under George II.. .iirf. ^hfSm party obS:?’*^"^

House of Assembly, 322. Consequence tLrefVom^a w'"T''^y ‘''®
peninsula, iW. Climate, fWrf. Products ^3 a ’ of the

for settlers, 354. Forests of excel 3 •, • ^ " ‘"""ense field open

Fish the gre.,t staple of etporrSs 3h „ “"^“1*. «

and moveable property within the colony^ ?f jmmovable

ceeds Jts revenue, 357. ^ expenditure far ex-

Island, opposite the city of Montreal, 134.

Oltatva, or Grand River, a tributary of the St. Li

-awrence, 89.

established a convent’( Ursulite Nuntrfo*f tr"^d ’o France

ZT^ ‘^0 Catholic populathin of youtl"’

destroyed by fire, ibid. wuepet, 210. Their convent twice

ISlforSI'a'tc^^^^^^^ of Nova Scotia, 350. His

Spanish ship, ibid. Knighted by* Khtg^'jbmts'^*!! **

ci^a“.T3i^' “rri/si/ a:,S5,

S'"'H wo., , o...„

Porfe/asn^burrof'*?hedty:rs^

cipal quarter of the timberiavvin/HnH^^ Prin-

Large fortunes acquired by these sai-mflls"^L^“ rl."® "Po™‘>ons, ibid.
408. American speculators, ibid A ^ m ^^®^P^ess of timber,
p edifices, 409. * ^ "^^morable example of one, ibid.

Areafnd dilite,’3ir ^3 "° f of Kent 314

by the French, and formed ^ ff theT‘ T" ‘’^cC^bot. ibid. Settled

rcm'l n by tC peace of 17*^3°'^A"i Con-

remarkable project for settline- i i Egremont^

by a government lottery, 364 Co, d ^“"ds disposed of

Cord Diirh^aW^CpoVt M ‘be hoVers of

'^oadians, 365. The Earl of S barbarous expul-

Highlanders, arrives from j a bodvof «nn

agnculture and pasture lands well afi.fd

the Marine hospital, «f the b;nevoien^ inSfonf

GENERAL INDEX.

537

Quebec, the approach to it forms one of the finest pictures on the river St.
Luwretice, 164. Historical sketch of, 167. The present site of Quebec
first seen by Cartier, a French navigator, September 7th, 1535, 172. The
foundation of the present city laid July 3rd, 1608, by Champlain, a cap-
tain in the French navy, 177. A fort on the site of the castle of St.
Lewis built by Champlain, ibid. First French child bom in Quebec, ibUl.
Taken for the English by Louis Kertk, a Huguenot refugee, 178.
Restored to the French by the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, ibid.
Attacked by a body of 700 Indian warriors, ibid. Unsuccessful attempts
of the British to reduce Quebec, 1 79. Fell into the hands of the British
by the battle of the Plains of Abraham, 183. General Wolfe, commander
of the English forces, and General Montcalm, of those of the French, both
killed in the action, 184. General Murray defeated on the Plains of
Abraham, 186. Retired into the Citadel, ibid. Besieged by the French
under the Marquis de Levi, ibid. The French flotilla destroyed by
General Amherst, ibid. Surrendered by capitulation to the British, 187.
The city invested and bombarded by the Americans under Generals
Montgomery and Arnold, 188. Attacked by night but the enemy repulsed,
ibid. The last hostile attack on Quebec, 189. Situation highly advan-
tageous, 190. Public buildings, 193. Religious establishments of the
French Catholics, 203. A bishop’s see of the church of England estab-
lished, 219. Religious establishments, 220. Schools, ibid. Grammar
school, misapplication of its funds, 221. Marine hospital commenced
under the auspices of Lord Aylmer, then Govemor-in-chief of the Pro-
vince, 222. Description of the citadel, 224. Unusual number of licensed
and unlicensed spirit shops, 232. Le Chien D’Or, one of the antiquities
or curiosities of Quebec, 236. Its history,' 237. Official returns of
exports and imports, 239. Number of emigrants, 241. Incorporated as
a city, 242. Population, ibid. The French and English do not mix in
society, ibid. The English families are given to hospitality, 244. News-
papers, three in English and three in French, 245. Extract from the
“ Gazette,” ibid. Public diversions, 248. Number of tavern-licenses for
1840, 255. Vast amount of drunkenness, 256. Report of the jailor of
the city, 257. Public execution of an English seaman, 259. Climate
embraces the two extremes of heat and cold, 262.

Richardsoriy Mr. John, a wealthy merchant of Montreal, gives a munificent
donation to the general hospital of that city, 146.

Rideau Canal, of the highest importance to Upper Canada, 76.

Robinson, Chief Justice, author of a work “ On Canada and the Canada
Bill,” 31. Extracts from, 34. Presides at a public dinner on Queens-
town Heights, 39. , , r 1 • j • ^

Roque, Jean Francois de la, the lord of Roberval, m Picardy, appointed
viceroy and lieutenant-general in Canada, 175. Established hinaself at
Cape Rouge, 176. Returns to France, ibid. Collects a large body of
emigrants, and with his brother Achilla, left France for Canada, but the
fleet in which they sailed was never heard of more, ibid.

Saquenay, river of, its source, 31 1 . Grandeur of its scenery, iJW.

Saint Croix, or the Schoodie, the westernmost of the n vers of New Bruns-
wick 4*"^2 The original boundary, westward, between the British
Province's and the United Stales, as fixed by the treaty of 1783, ibid.

5SS

GENERAL INDEX.

“"tlutr the harbour of Mont-

",' province of New Brunswick ‘WQ « *.i
400. bituation, tbid. Its public buildings 402 pAnr i' ^fftjcment of

tb,d. Mechanics’ institute, 403 Mili ?rv hit™ hotels

ibid. Religious and literary assodatio1« ih d M

404. Severe losses by Hres, ibid. ShiDhiMldin'o- government

405. Commerce, 406. Rapid progress of the cof business

custom with respect to the privile|e of LhW .®og«bir

American speculators, 408. Population 400 a 5s

in the condition and manners of all clJsses^’dlO This‘^“"iT “^ '‘‘t“®**ty

Jgp..h, .a „a“; ~

Government House, ibid. streets narrow and irregular, 377.

promenades, 0>id. present foims one of the most delightful

394^"sCb^llt' - «>« --t of New
tants, ibid, ^ ^ occupation of the iiihabi

““ ■“« O' «»■- l-»r, .. Q«b.., ». 0,,„. 0,

rrS'-'v ■- ‘oo'-s* >ai .. b. Hd .o ,1. ,„™„

tbe adru"*cribe”oViaiI»8,ol7ll^l^lW^^^ “dopted a, a phief of

'Ik llboTdTS.'''''''''' “’“"“I “Uppce poa, a.»bac, 273. Vi.itaJ b,
Syderdiam, Lord, governor-general of C.r, ^ ■

Keceives an address from the mayor an?dd ’ Montreal, 80.

Mechanics Institution, 81. The whole ?. from the

His great ability as a statesman and formal ibid

ness, acknowledged 82 ’ e '"'’“■‘’try as a practical man of i..i ■ '

in New BrunswTk,’415. questioned, ku h 11 u.m.

%dney. town in the island of Cape Breton, 362.

Temperance, Society at Toronto on »j„a

I there, zbzd. Letter in the Cakd^Tem by the higher classes

pr^va'Cr™*"® "“/"’P^'unce fn Upper‘'cTnTda Melancholy
^ievaiiing cause of crime 79 Canada, ibid. IjJtemDeraiu.o fhi

thffrSsoTlen*’ Kinston, 79.

enipeiaiice on the St. Law’rence frok' M^trLir^ ""A^f

mrtll t»l OUSl-

> unpopularity

GENERAL INDEX.

539

address on the utility of forming temperance societies delivered by the
author at Montreal, 153. Extract from the Temperance Advocate,
155. The higher classes of society at Montreal indifferent to the cause
of temperance, 156. Two societies at Quebec, 231. Great number of
licensed taverns and spirit shops at Quebec, 432. Large imports of wine
and spirits, 239. Crowded temperance meeting in the Parliament House
at Quebec, delivered from the Speaker’s chair, 254. Statistics of
intemperance, 255. Temperance meeting at Halifax, 345. Intemperate
passengers in a stage-coach, 385. Drunkenness and blasphemy in a
steamer, 391. Drunkenness on board the President steamship, 486.

Toronto, the metropolis of Upper Canada, sketch of its history, 7. Rapid
increase of, 10. Public edifices, 14. Places of worship, 17. Newspapers,
22. Courts of Law, 23. Municipal government, 25. State of society
peculiarly agreeable, 30. Advance of Toronto within a given period, 32.
Population returns, 36. Meeting of the coloured inhabitants to celebrate
the anniversary of the emancipation of their brother Africans in the West
Indies, 40. Toronto the chief seat of the late rebellion, 42. Cheapness
and excellence of its markets, ibid.

Thompson, Mr. Poulett, see Sydenham. r c

Thousand Isles, extend along the centre of the St. Lawrence for forty miles,
83.

ValMre, Mons. de Saint, the second Catholic bishop of Quebec, founded
the convent of the Recollets in that city, 215. Description of, 216.
Verazzano, a Florentine navigator in the service of Frajicis I. of France,
notice of, 169. Interesting incident in the history ot, 170.

f ord Ashburton deserving all praise for the successful J*"® treaty

i^hleh ato many yelrs o? dispute has at last settled the Boundary

wZtS'Key. George, the contemporary and colleague of John Wesley.

180. Military and naval force, 181. recital of Gray’s

right of the army, tbu . charge with the bayonet received a

While leading the grenadiers a mortal wound in

second ban ^ the groin tod ball mfl

{.urient bttwi^: !^ in Westminister abbey, ,6«t.

540

general index.

marks the spot

ascending to the Plains of Abraham ^ ^ *"« ‘™°PS before

rVoodstock, town of njcor^..^ ,ui ' ’

v.not, 400 . I^isagreabJe accommodation at, ito.

York, see Toronto.

SeJtia^"^"'’"^obHsh^^^^^^^ farming into Nova

tbtd. His sons have distiiieuished fh^mcii” subject of agriculture,

subjects, the fisheries, commfrce, and cu™encr<i^rf. ““

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biS student, and to an ellg to the hbr.ry."-T.«as.

ardour aud enthusiasm. 1 be worK is

FISHKR, SON, AND CO. LONDON.

WESTMORLAND, CUMBERLAND, DURHAM & NORTm

UMBERLAND, ILLUOTRATED. In a series of Two H^rfd
Views, from Orawings on the spot by Thomas Allom, Esq., with descrimh-e i
by Thomas Rose. In three vols. quarto, tastefully bound and gilt, price £S.

f. fVio _ XI ^ _ i_ •

THE COUNTIES OF CHESTER, DERBY LEirF'^Tvit

LINCOLN, NOTTINGHAM, AND RUTLAND ILI IIST^

Original Drawings by I'homas Allom ; with Descrfprions by^M«frI^NolLE^» H
Contammg Seventy-three Views, uniform with the lake Sc';ner;rha^5d:om:i;‘'bt^

DEVONSHIRE AND CORNWALL ILLUSTR -VTFD v

One of the most splendid topographieel volumes we have ever see„.>'-LiTERARv Gazetvr. ’
natural aud’IrMcitlfof’G'rm&Uaim-^^^ ““ libraries, illustrative of the beauties

SCOTLAND AND SCOTT ILLTJSTT? ATTrn n a. • • ^

Hundred and Eiffht Plafpc fmm ^ Y ^D. Containing Od6

J. M. VV. Turnerf George Cruikshank^Tr Historical Drawirigs by

^nted (and extracts from the Waverley NovelsVb^G scenes repre-

Quarto, elegantly bound, price £2. 2s. ) V • • Wright, M. A. Two volumes

plate to the page of the N^vel contain^ing thrsubj^^

^ H B^r2®?S:^BTyne?&e^Yk^ Drawings by George

containing Eighty-one Engravings! >>andt™el7te

A „,i.s

Artists. With Memoirs bv T T ^ ^ original Pictures by first-rate

0.«.. eou.1, r.. S oX“

progress. With

representation of Vawtv Fair hvPoo^ original picture; and a eranhic

“HfS;!terr

MlSira''* honour upon a work ..hioh

.0 Elve ntieranee lo onr estimation of this mosi .au.ifu. edi.ion,..-Mo.v ,„ov

fisher, son, and CO, LONDON.

IN MONTHLY PARTS, PRICE 2s. EACH,

four highly finished engravings.

"tZ «f Illustrated Worhs, “ The Rhine, Italy, If Greece"-

THE CHINESE EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

Engravings, delineating the sumptuous Palaces of the
Lmperor,— the Scenery, Architecture, Religious Ceremonies, Manufactures, and the
various extraordinary Institutions of that ancient and exclusive Nation ; drawn from

the Rev.' G n" WrJ^!‘’m.’a^ ’ Letter-press by

The letter-press will give a succinct account of the Manners, Customs, and Peculiarities
ot this primitive and singular people; and, together with the Views, will convey to the
eye and the mind a complete picture of

CHINA AND THE CHINESE.

Publishing in Monthly Parts, Price 2s. each. FISHER’S

COUNTY ATLAS OF ENOLAND & WALES.

Parts \ to S now ready ^

The Maps of this Atlas will be executed in the best style ; and as the valuable Maps
issued by her Majesty's Board of Ordnance, will be taken as their basis, (with the requisite
additions and corrections to the present time) it is presumed this work will be found more
comprehensive, and more accurate in detail, than any work of the kind hitherto submitted
for public approval.

THE PEOPLE’S ILLUSTRATED & UNABRIDGED EDITION,

HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE.

To be embellished with'iipwards of Eighty highly-finished Engravings on Steel, from
Drawings on the spot, by W. H. Bartlett, Esq., and T. Allom, Esq.

A Number every Saturday . , . Three- Pence.

A Part every Four Weeks , . . One Shilling.

In Monthly PartSy Price 2s. each.

SCOTT’S, REV. THOS. M.A. FAMILY BIBLE

FISHER’S ILLUSTRATED EDITION.

To be completed in about 40 Monthly Parts, at 2s.; every Part embellished with a
highly-finished Engraving on Steel, forming a series of view’s of the principal places
mentioned in Scripture, from Drawings on the spot.

Fisher's edition of this invaluable Commentary is reprinted from the last which the
author published in the vigour of life ; — a genuine and authentic work, consisting w^holly
and entirely of the labours of the Rev. Thomas Scott alone.

Published Monthly , Price 2s. 6d.

PISHER’S COLONIAL MAGAZINE

AND COMMERCIAL MARITIME JOURNAL.

Containing numerous original and important Articles connected with “ Ships, Colonies,
and Commerce.”

“ All who have relatives or friends in the Colonies, or w'ho are otherwise interested in
their prosperity, (and who is not?) ought to patronize this periodical. Its objects are of
great and obvious utility.”

FISHER’S PICTORIAL HISTORY OF CHINA AND THE CHINESE

FROM ORIGINAL AND AUTHENTIC SKETCHES,

Now publishing in Monthly P arts , JDemy Quarto size^ price 2s, each,

CHINA ILLUSTRATED

IN A SERIES OF HIGHLY-FINISHED VIEWS, DISPLAYING ’

THE SCENERY, ARCHITECTURE, SOCIAL HABITS, &c.

OF THIS ANCIENT AND EXTRAORDINARY EMPIRE.

Drawings, by Thomas Allom, Esq. — Historical Notices, bv the
Rev. G. N. Wright, M.A.

LITERARY NOTICES.— LONDON PAPERS.

The Times.

“ The present work has been beautifully got up by Mr. Fisher. So far from being a tame flat
and uninteresting country, as most people imagine, it appears to possess all the characteristics of a
highly romantic and diversified region, inferior in grandeur, no less than in cultivation to no
country in the world.” ’

Morning Herald.

“ A work which seems likely to show us what the natural beauties of China really are • how
gorgeous are its edifices, and how singular the customs of its people. The drawings are well chosen
and well engraved, and the text which accompanies them is written with ease, elegance anfl
perspicuity.” *

Literary Gazette.

“ Beautifully illustrated this Chinese exhibition will assuredly meet the desideratum at nresent
p much and so generally looked for by the people of England. The author’s lettered labours con-
joined with the artist’s graphic performances, will complete a design eminently worthv of a ner-

manent place in every British (we may say every European) library.” ^ ^

Court Gazette.

“ The most completely familiar picture of China, as regards its people, costume, customs, and

the late warlike visit to the Celestial Empire has produced
V e dwbt not, that Mr. Allom s China, will cause ‘ considerable excitement' It brings China and
John Chinaman palpably to our firesides.’’ ® vnma ana

John Bull.

?*y> »"<* the publishers appear to have access to original

sketches of its most interesting objects, which must render the work eagerly sought after Each

SmMiom’’ fund of useful and entertaining

. . .

to display the scenery, architecture, and social habits of the
Chinese, is to consi^ of a series of views from original and authentic sketches. The first Parts
ir u’" character of the engravings, and the judicious selectL of their subwjs

Those which are delineative of architectural views, are more especially choice The exolanatorv
descriptrveand^^^^^^^^^ reads with considerable interest, both as regards ib

The A.ROUS

» Every plate is a gem, as comprehensive as correct iii its design, and as masterlv as minute in if^
execution The picture delights us by its intrinsic merits, whiirit fol^fb^^^

d^awln^ranrl^j portrays. There are touches of nature^about W Allom’s

rea^ No? is ^agination with notions of

« w., VT A* Watchman.

themselves.’ ^ ated, if any such there be, buy the work, and judge for

“ This A . Sunday Times, London,

productions, and^^afways wkh h^ut^never^Jf beauty. We have seen many of Mr. Allom’s

transcend these views. ^ He has-been fairW w It i- ^ remember anything from his pencil to
before him.‘’ ® brought out to extra-exertioii by the novelty of the field

utility, and cheapness, in a de^^ee^far^Il^^ rmiiTem^ff^ which combines splendour.

Illustrations are well chosen an^admiraX exe^efl contemporary publication. The

leaves little to be desired in an historical andTesc^^^^^^^^^

m W.rS ^ ^ ^

FISHER, SON, & CO., NEWGATE ST.. LONDON.

AMERICA,

HISTORICAL, STATISTIC, AND DESCRIPTIVE.

BY JAMES S. BUCKINGHAM, ESQ.

IN TWO SERIES.

1. — The Northern, or Free States, in thirty-six Parts at One Shillinp;, with a Portrait of

the Author, a Map, and Seventy- three Engravings on Wood.

2. — The Southern, or Slave States, in twenty-six Parts at One Shilling, with Eight highly-

finished Engravings on Steel.

As these Volumes on America have now been quoted, as an authority, by the two great
Leaders of Political Parties in the House of Commons — Sir Robert Peel, and Lord John

Russell and as the unsolicited and disinterested testimonies of individuals of station and

intelligence, are deservedly esteemed by the world,— it has been thought desirable to state,
that they have been commended, in the most flattering terms, by many distinguished
individuals : but as their testimonies would occupy many pages, it is thought sufficient to
select only a few, as specimens of the whole; and to include among them especially those
of persons who have travelkd in the United States, or who are resident citizens of that
country, as their opinions will naturally be held to be of the greatest accuracy and

importance. Morpeth to Mr. Buckingham^ since his Travels in Anwica,

“ 1 am able to bear a witues&’a teatimony to the accuracy of the first three volumes of your Work on America,
which wefe my compLTl in my recent travels through that country ; and I found

and general impartiality, independently of higher results, made them most useful and
Text Boo^ I shall therefore have much pleasure in making acquaintance with

have so fully occupied the whole ground, that my abstaining from treading in your foot prints cannot fail o

generally acq Ashburton^ late Minister to Amenca.

«• T have read a considerable portion of your work on America-my long residence in that country leading me

the stamp of general impartiality and candour.

From Francis Hooky Esq. — Traveller in Amei’ica,

.. : .0 r:r.t

Langstaff, Esg .h..

“““ ““ oZrge CatUn, Esg. the American Traveller.

My wife and "I'” "ow ”.iding i“ ^“don .7u^Vo°f“Uy'|JwlX

country. Amorioa, with ^ “sUy dc«ribed in your pages, as well as in your

.11 th. pu«. and inatilution. which y»« h.” „adinj th. other, w. have h.en

oloQuent '“’**1 7?JidVnd leea real than if wo were fellow trayellero with you, and

uuderatanding between thywoj^um^^^^^^ ^ America.

A'Jrirtha!’ r. bi7n'77bt ^7e'7uffi7fe77 1n7our.g.n..nt to proceed with th.

'"ion ""/rorEZard C. Delavan, Esg., Albany, Neu, Yarh.

.. I hare now the pleeaure to acVnowl.dge ;',Te’e7“eon°.id.red h, all unprw

X .bin «.d"Lw, with b.rBXrr’r:::^ e”c“.r^rrn- on thi. Country. Mr. Bleeclt.r,

’Altta^Mt^ietr h":!!..! « the Hague, atnong other., eo ..tituate. it.

fisher, son, & CO. NEWGATE ST. l.ONDON.

NEW WORK- DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO THE QUEEN

This day is published, bound in Cloth, 10s. ; Silk, 12s. , Morocco, IC 9

THE WIVES OF ENGLAND,

THEIR RELATIVE DUTIES, DOMESTIC INFLUENCE,

AND SOCIAL OBLIGATIONS.

BY THE AUTHOR OF “ THE WOMEN OF ENGLAND."

N. B. By desire— A. Marhiage-day Present Edition is prepared, printed
Paper, and elegantly bound in White Morocco. Price One Guinea.

on superfine

literary OPINIONS.

“ Mrs. Elhs lias already won golden opinions by the publication of her ‘ Womon

it enS: SponfhitS lytl "fir^tTear of ^ qiancing at thoughts before marriage,
istics of min,’ < the Xviour rational and fiftoT. Ih ‘character-

subjects, ‘ the love and the trials of married lif^ •’ deepens into those beautiful

what may be considered minor matters but whieh its close to touch on

stndTrdl^'^^^’ -an;gement, and aUiZn ^

should form a hoLehold\oo^k ijf e"ver*^^^ ExcellmT'"^^ M ‘m P*'®®*"’®®''®' ‘‘
tic wives will it form of ‘ the daughters of E^iglmid.”’-^S“^^^ loveable, and domes-

Now ready, in one volume octavo, price 14 s.

THE INFLUENCE OF ARISTOCRACIES ON THE
REVOLUTIONS OF NATIONS

CONSIDERED IN l^EI-ATION TO THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES OF
the BRITISH EMPIRE.

' "'fong.

le lavf forbid my tongue to curse?" SHARSFEsag.

BY JAMES J. MACINTYRE.

I^ISHER, SON. rEU:i^EWFi:i^^gET. LONDON.

7(o

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